How Some UPSC Aspirants are Dodging Costly Coaching Centres

The bold, blue font on the placards with the phone number of coaching centres and their success rate covered every inch of the damp, grey cracks on the buildings at Old Rajendra Nagar, Karol Bagh and Mukherjee Nagar in Delhi.

Chetna Mishra, 23, an aspirant for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) from West Bengal recalled her first visit to the UPSC coaching hub. “At the end of walking through all the lanes there, the last name I could remember, by reading all the placards, was Vajiram & Ravi Coaching Centre. But I had researched and decided not to take coaching for General Studies as the best costs between Rs 1-2 lakh.”

The first impression that the coaching market around UPSC aspirants in Delhi created on Chetna was the constant psychological push to join coaching centres, as if without that the chances of success are dim.

Having researched for two years before moving to Delhi, Chetna decided to carve her own path through self-study and go through coaching centre notes available in book shops at Old Rajinder Nagar. “The notes for Vajiram & Ravi cost Rs 180. Though, this is not a one- time payment, as the notes keep getting updated,” said Chetna.

Every year lakhs of UPSC aspirants descend on the capital city to seek guidance. “But every now and then candidates like Simi Karan (the girl from Chhattisgarh who got 31st rank in her first attempt) who give us hope that self-study too can crack UPSC and coaching is optional,” said an aspirant.

On August 4, the UPSC website released a list of candidates selected for the civil services from the batch of 2019. A total of 829 candidates were selected for different positions like IAS, IPS, IRS and IFS. One of them was Simi Karan from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh.

Simi, 22, is also the youngest candidate. But she drew attention for her self- studying technique and dedication. In one of the interviews, she said she chose not to seek help from any commercial coaching centre and carved her own study routine.

Every year, lakhs of aspirants undertake 10 months of rigorous coaching for the three levels - prelims, mains and interview. Some keep trying and give up, some make it at one go.

Klesh, 28, from Amaravati in Maharastra arrived in Delhi three years ago for UPSC exam preparations but seeing the exorbitant fee demand from coaching cetnres, he decided to focus on self-study. “But I could not do this back home, as study environment is an important factor and Delhi gives you that,” he said.

But, Klesh said that when it comes to expenditure, he had extreme constraints. “I used to get Rs. 11,000 from home, which included my room rent. My father owns a tailoring shop and I am the first-generation educated from my family,” he said.

Instead of coaching centres, Klesh decied to invested in reading rooms, that cost him Rs. 2,000 per month. A reading room has cubicles with rows of revolving chairs and wooden tables, where at least 100 aspirants study together. “It is like a library without books,” said Klesh. The notes, books and study material cost him between Rs. 1,000- 1,500 every month.

Another UPSC aspirant from Jammu (who did not want to be named), said: “Everyone wants to cover the syllabus as fast as possible, in the best way possible, with the right guidance. This often makes coaching centres indispensable for the majority of newcomers.”

Shivam Sharma Kharel, 24, an aspirant from a small town in West Bengal’s Madarihat, too, has been self-studying for a year.

After studying at Presidency University, where Shivam paid less than Rs. 25,000 for an undergraduate course, he didn't want to waste Rs. 45,000 on online coaching or over Rs. 1 lakh in offline centres.

Newspapers, which are considered a good source for information on current affairs, are important for UPSC aspirants. However, for Shivam, the nearest market is at least 6 kilometres away from where he stays and the newspapers available are a couple of regional ones. “So having a smartphone proves cheaper in the long run than buying newspapers and current affairs magazines,” he says.

For subjects like economics, science and technology, Shivam lgs on to YouTube for some good coaching institute video lectures.

“I have watched a few demo classes on YouTube which the coaching centres upload to lure students. Some of them are good,” he adds.

On the difference between self-study and coaching, Balwant Pratap Singh, Academic Associate Manager at ALS, said that all depends on the aspirants’ potential.

If a student is academically brilliant and has scored well, then they do not need coaching. But for a student who for some reason is not academically brilliant or does not get that kind of opportunity, coaching becomes necessary, he said.

State governments have also been making efforts to help those who cannot afford expensive coaching, like the Jai Bhim Mukyamantri Pratibha Yojana scheme of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and a well-known centre in Kashmir , called Institute for Competition Promotion .

According to Shivam, the government should give emphasis on proper school and college education where the crux of the problem lies, which is why coaching centres are thriving.

The writer is a freelance journalist.