Various institutes have been teaching entrance preparation courses to students who have finished their +2, ISC or A-level examinations. While engineering and medical entrance preparation are the most sought-after courses, management entrance preparation is also becoming popular.
Operating two or three shifts a day, engineering course preparation institutes in Kathmandu have 2,000 to 3,000 students on average. The institutes aim to get them admitted to Pulchowk Engineering College (PEC) and Kathmandu University.
Institutes such as Progress Educational Academy (PEA) at Jaycees Bhawan, Thapathali and National Academy for Engineering Education at Kupondole prepare students for Computer, Electrical, Civil, Mechanical and Architectural Engineering and the prices range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 13,000 for a three-month course. They also provide a few need-based scholarships.
For medical entrance preparation classes, National Academy of Medical Entrance (NAME) at Putalisadak, Sachdeva Institute, also at Putalisadak, and Orbit International Education at Dillibazar are a few renowned institutes in the same price range as the engineering preparatory institutes.
While some students enjoy the preparatory classes and join up with the main objective of getting into a good college, some others find it all burdensome.
“I just got over the pressure of Physics, which was the ´mission-impossible´ subject, and studying again is just too tiring,” complains Rohani Shrestha, a student at PEA. “However, I joined to kind of pass the time and, to be sure, with the hope of getting into the Institute of Engineering.”
But Upama Gautam, a student at Sachdeva, feels differently. She joined the course to learn and fulfill her dream of being a nurse at the Teaching Hospital. She is quite enjoying the course.
Most students think that the price is worth it.
Bhavin Pradhan, another student at PEA, believes that the classes, if paid attention to, are not all that boring. “I don´t think it´s too hectic. It´s for your own good and why not do something rather than sit idly?” he opines.
Although many people are under the impression that only engineering and medical preparation courses are indispensable, management entrance preparation courses have now become equally important. The Kathmandu College of Management entrance preparation course at Gwarko, Lalitpur trains students for entering Kathmandu College of Management (KCM), as the name indicates.
At the institute students are coached in English and Mathematics through Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) courses. “Being a science student, I previously did not know what Management subjects were like. Beginning with something familiar like SAT has made it easy for me”, says Karpur Shrestha, a student eying to join KCM.
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