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I
hardly receive any letter these days. However,
today I found someone has placed a nice envelope
in my letterbox. Out of inquisitiveness, I
opened it and glanced through the content. It
was from some ‘Concept Square- Total Commitment
for IIT-JEE/PMTs coaching’. ‘After grand success
of last year in Faridabad, Delhi, and Patna,
Concept Square has opened its branch in Noida.’
Courses are of two years for students of Class
XI (Rs 35,500), and one year for those in class
XII or who have passed XII (Rs. 60,500). Service
taxes are extra. One is to start by paying Rs
15,500 at the time of admission, and Rs 7,500 in
subsequent months (till total fee is paid).
Surprisingly, it claims to provide benefits from
IIT faculties too. To authenticate its
capability, it enclosed a list of 9 students
ranking 52 to 3992.
Concept Square must be one of the thousands of
coaching centers running in the country. Many of
these must be running with very ordinary
teachers. Many must be charging a fortune. I am
sure there are not many ‘Super-30 type’
institutes that take in only students of
deprived class and bear all their expenditures
for the coaching period. The government that is
so much concerned about equity must understand
that the capacity to pay for these coaching
centres must be the first obstacle for the
students from the deprived and poor class and
cause of heartburning. Can the government pay
for the expenditure in coaching for those
students based on the recommendations of their
schools? As I understand it will be impossible.
How can the system of admission be changed so
that the coaching is not needed?
How do the students come to know about the
authenticity of a capable enough coaching center
when the number is mushrooming so fast before
joining one at huge cost to the parents? Can the
IITs of the region or some other agencies rate
them on basis of some measurable criteria and
the fees be standardized instead of their
charging any amount like specialized doctors
based on demand and supply?
Why can’t IIT devise an entrance examination
that discourages or eliminates the necessity of
a coaching industry? I still think that BITS,
Pilani way of selection can be one way out. But
I am sure that if all these institutes of
national importance so decide, some innovative
measures can be found to eliminate the role of
coaching centre and growing of a famous coaching
town such as Kota with so many coaching shops.
It is a necessity to save the additional and
unnecessary cost to the parents of the aspiring
students that in millions.
Many a time I get an inkling that the IITs
themselves are responsible for this cancerous
growth of coaching centers in the country and
many of its faculties are behind it. But one
thing is sure that these coaching centers are
not adding any values to the knowledge. It only
provides a way to succeed in the examinations. I
don’t know if there is any study about the
relationship of the ranks in the entrance
examination and the final grading of a passed
out graduate engineer or doctor and with the
success in professional career.
I think my own days, when there were no coaching
centres not even the postal ones, we could
succeed to get in IIT, and also did fairly well
in life with almost no relation with the ranks
in different examinations in our education
system.
IIT and other similar institutes must go all out
to end the coaching cult. And I am sure that it
is technically possible. The open book
examinations in our first year where we were
allowed to take all books used to be the
toughest. Why can’t the same concept do away
with coaching? This will be a great service to
the nation. It will be possible unless they
believe that coaching centres can only provide
jobs to their graduates.
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