50% leave IIT-JEE coaching mid-way

“We have about 15 to 20 per cent dropouts in Class XI itself as students feel they have taken on more than they can handle,” said Amar Gosavi of Career Coaching Academy in Lullanagar.

While educationists and school principals blame it on parents who push their wards to these classes without ascertaining their aptitude,the parents say early training increases the chances of their ward to crack the coveted examination.

The IIT-JEE classes are conducted in two phases — from Class VIII to X and Classes XI & XII. On an average,the fee charged is Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 for each phase. Nearly 30 per cent of the 2,000 city students who enroll themselves for the classes begin from Class VIII.

The reason cited by most coaching institutes for not refunding the money is that they do not admit students mid-way and once a student drops out,the seat remains vacant. Some institutions though do divert the dropouts to other entrance exam classes like AIEEE or MHT-CET. “With this measure,we have drastically brought down the dropouts at our centre,” said Mangeshkar.

Educationists and school principals,however,question whether IIT-JEE coaching is necessary from Class VIII. Dr Vijaya Wad,educationist and consultant with Podar Education Trust,said instead of put pressure on students to go for the so-called elite courses,parents should test their wards’ aptitude after Class X and then decide the further course of action.

Hrishikesh Soman,principal of Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce,said asking students to join such coaching classes as an early age is limiting their options.

But,the parents refuse to agree. “When there are lakhs of students vying for a few thousand seats in the IITs,I wanted to ensure that my son receives the best of coaching,” said Anupam Gowarikar,whose son Abhiram — a Class IX student,is taking IIT coaching in a private institution.

Considering the gap between SSC,CBSE syllabus and that of entrance exams,IIT-JEE trainers say coaching from Class VIII is a necessity. ‘Without the four-year focused coaching,it becomes difficult to prepare a student for IIT- JEE,” said Gosavi.

Even though M Prakash of M Prakash Academy,a leading IIT- JEE coaching institute in the city,has instituted a stringent selection procedure to ensure only ‘able’ students get the coaching (this year from the 912 who applied for coaching from Class XI,he took only 80),he admits that he too has to ask about five per cent students mid-way to discontinue because they fail to cope with the coaching.

A recent ASSOCHAM survey stated that urban parents tend to spend about 33 per cent of their income on tuitions. The IIT-JEE tuitions fee would undoubtedly take the figure much higher.