Bhubaneswar, Sept. 25: Meritorious SC/ST students of the state facing financial crises will now get a chance to attend classes at national-level coaching centres. They will get an opportunity to prepare for medical and engineering entrance examinations.

In the absence of government-run institutes providing integrated medical coaching, the SC/ST development department has short-listed private coaching institutes in the state that have a national presence.

“Although the performance of ST/SC students has been found to be far better than those of the general category in the state average in science and commerce streams, they are not being able to qualify for medical seats because of poor coaching facilities and lack of guidance. The department has proposed coaching at reputed institutes to meritorious SC/ST students whose parents’ income is less than Rs 2 lakh per annum,” said a senior official in the department.

He said the students would be identified from tribal dominated and remote districts and asked to visit the state capital.

“Providing classroom teaching is not adequate to prepare students for various entrance tests. Since no government college provides integrated medical coaching to students, we need to involve private colleges and institutions that do,” said the official.

“We wanted to provide the students with better coaching facilities and this year, the department has selected Aakash Institute,” said the official.