Write an article highlighting the exploitation of young minds that needs sincere counselling and proper direction
Answers
While going through coaching institutes to prepare for various entrance examinations has definitely helped students, their role is way too much exaggerated. It's the power of advertising and peer pressure that makes students to gravitate towards these institutes.
I want to share the case of a student who got funded by ShikshaDaan Foundation, the not for profit run by us.
This boy got excellent marks in his higher secondary examination (+2) and was aiming for IIT. He was studious and brilliant on his own without any tuitions upto this point. But he was insistent upon going to one of the top coaching institutes in Kota to prepare for his IIT Entrance so as to get admission into IIT, his dream, and was seeking funds from us. We refused.
We guided him to meet with one of our friends, an alumnus of IIT and IIM to counsel the boy. Our friend was able to convince the boy to go and spend a few days at Kota visiting the institutes and see for himself, and then decide whether he had to go to Kota for prep.
The boy returned within few days and told our friend that he is not interested to go to Kota and would prepare on his own with some local assistance. With the continued guidance of our friend, the boy has got admission into IIT this year and has just joined the program. We have funded his initial joining fees as he is eligible for fee waiver, and would return us the fees later once his fee waiver is confirmed.
This is a true case. To me not everyone needs to go through coaching from these institutes but the power of their advertising and peer pressure makes almost everyone to rush to them.