Sir

I would like to share my class 11th and 12th experience in Patna.

After completing 10th from I.C.S.E board, I changed to C.B.S.E board and chose such a school where bunking was allowed. Though it is against the C.B.S.E terms yet a majority of schools in Bihar overcharge students to let them bunk. They do not spare overcharging the Boards fee even! Board fee of rupees 800 was charged at twice the price in my school.

The sole reason for choosing such a school was obvious: IIT coaching.

In my coaching, nearly 80% of the students were from Bihar Board and they too were in such schools where bunking was allowed albeit on cheaper fees than CBSE schools.

Coaching is becoming inevitable primarily because of the following reasons:

Fierce competition
Limited number of good colleges
Lack of proper guides in school
Sharma Ji’s son is also in coaching
The worst thing about coaching is that a majority of them are run by Mafias who have made education such a heinous business that they even involve in leaking papers of various competitive exams.

It might shock you after knowing that even the question paper of AIEEE in 2011 was leaked from Patna only.

The coaching culture has destroyed the essence of education. It has reduced the scope of education from learning to mere cracking competitive exams.

My experience in my coaching was very terrible.

I was in St. Xavier’s Patna till class 10th and there, we used to have smart classes, equipped with digital boards, projector and other modern teaching methods. Teachers were excellent and they emphasized more on learning than just passing exams. Learning was interesting.

When I came in 11th, there was a hue and cry of IIT, Practice papers, mock tests, top batch in coaching, cream students etc.

I recall asking conceptual questions out of curiosity to teachers in coaching and getting a reply: It will not be asked in IIT.

Several times the physics teacher mocked me for asking questions out of IIT domain.

I used to wonder more how a capacitor looks like, where it is used than to wonder how to solve the H.C Verma problems on Capacitors.

I could use internet to quench my curiosity however the teacher said “Don’t use internet for studies”.

I also recall once I solved some problem by some different technique and the teacher disregarded it as I did not solve it by the method which he taught!

This was how teachers killed curiosity inside a majority of the students. I am glad, I left the coaching midway.

Although I couldn’t make into IITs or NITs however I managed to survive boards without any guide, neither at coaching nor at school. Self Study that’s it! I am happy with 68% .

More than 70% of the students are enrolled in some or the other coaching in all over Bihar. They learn how to solve a MCQ which is asked in IIT but unfortunately there is hardly anyone to teach the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.

I feel, this is the biggest reason for the failure of educational setup in Bihar.

Anand Kishore, The Chairman of Bihar Board is known for his strict administration. His tenure as the D.M of Siwan 11 years back earned him a title “Atank Kishore”.

After the topper scam, the BSEB has tighten the screw and this time the papers were checked more strictly.

This was the reason that most of the students failed this time.

Qualifying JEE mains and failing in class 12th was the result of these two factors.

Who is responsible:

I would like to quote an Urdu couplet that I composed two years back:

Taleem tizaarat ho gayi, ustaad saudaagar ho gayen.

Ilm ki talab kise hai? Shagird bhi toh so gayen!

(Education has become a business, educators have become businessmen.Who cares for learning, for students have also slept!)

Yours Truly

Zeeshan Ali

  Bihar, education, Jesuit education, letters