Tutorials buy, steal toppers’ success – ToI – 30.5.11

Hemali Chapia | TNN

Mumbai: For the painfully shy young I Prudhvi Tej, acing the competitive IIT entrance test has been akin to wearing a crown of thorns.
    About two years ago, a coaching class spammed its notes to Prudhvi Tej (IITJEE 2011 all India topper); now it proudly takes credit for his success. The private academy, popular for training medical aspirants, will draw on Prudhvi Tej’s accomplishment and cash in on the large enrolments it will get for the ensuing year.
    “When I was in class XI, this coaching class had sent
some notes to me free of cost. I don’t know why they sent those booklets. Neither did I contact them, nor have they ever spoken to me. Just because they sent these notes, they registered me as a student,” he said .
    Ever since the results were declared, toppers have been shocked to find themselves associated with coaching institutes they never attended.
    District communities they don’t belong to, have expressed desire to felicitate them.
    A long line of politicians, touts, coaching academies and other opportunists have been constantly badgering and cajoling toppers — “please appear in this ad”, “please be the chief guest”, kindly endorse our product”.
    “I did not take any additional help. I did not go to a coaching class. My father prepared me for the JEE. But I received calls from about eight tutorials wanting me to fill feedback forms for which they would offer about Rs 2 lakh. They were, in fact still are, trying to buy my rank, just because I am in the top-100,” said a student who did not want to be named. ‘Students’ names misused by coaching centres’
Kandarp Khandwala is another furious JEE topper. The 13th ranker said his name and photograph have been used by an all-India tutorial famous for its test series, whereas Khandwala attended a Mumbai-based class for two years. “I bought the rankers’ study material from this coaching class. But they have advertised that I was their classroom student. For a lot of other students too, this class has clubbed their ‘non-classroom programme toppers with their ‘classroom programme’ toppers,” said Khandwala. It is immediately after the JEE results that coaching classes open admission counters. And penetrate into the thickly competitive JEE coaching business and attracting bright students doesn’t come easy. Everyone goes by previous results and hence the grand outcome or the number of toppers one churns out, matters a lot. “The practice is unethical and there was a time when we were considering legal action against some coaching institutes in the north that were using our students’ names and photos and taking credit for their ranks,” said P Narayana, proprietor of Hyderabad-based coaching institute. The clash of coaching classes has had another fall-out. As soon as the results are out, coaching classes order their rankers to march up to their This is followed by a party. All day long, top rankers are held in captivity. For those wanting to spend time at home, celebrating their success quietly with their family, there’s another day.