Patna: Hapless students have devised a novel way to prepare for competitive examinations as all the coaching institutes remain closed in Bihar as a result of COVID-19.
Left with no option, these students have been rushing to city parks, on the banks of the Ganges or on the roofs of their hostels/lodges and are sitting together for group study.
They share their knowledge together and help each other to solve their problems. Group discussions are the most preferred way of their study at this time, which has not only saved money considerably but also made them learn to stay together at the time of disaster.
Ignoring the bone-chilling cold waves sweeping across this state, the students assemble at parks or rooftops positively before noon and pass the whole day debating issues and solving the queries together.
Future at stake
The problem before them is that as many as nine important competitive examinations, such as railway recruitment tests, staff selection commission test, Bihar Forester test and preliminary test for Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) are to be conducted in the next one month. These exams will start from December 13 and continue till January 24, and hence, they can’t ignore them any longer lest their future will be at stake.
“We reached Patna hoping the coaching institutes will get opened but much to our shock they still remain closed. We are now preparing for the examination together. We sit together, debate the issues and help each other clearing the doubts, if any,” said Nawal Kumar who is preparing for railway examination to be held on December 15.
Saurabh Kumar who is preparing for the BPSC exam said COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions had done a lot of harm to their study. “We didn’t prepare well at home but when we reached Patna, we found all the coaching institutes closed. We had been quite worried about our study but now much of our problems remain solved with group study. This has proved a blessing in disguise for us,” said Sauabh who stays in a city lodge.
Many students have formed WhatsApp groups and have been sharing their information and important tips there, and these all are free of cost. What has proved to be an icing on the cake is the help coming from a coaching teacher Guru Rahman who is conducting online classes without charging any fees. “This is a hard time and so we are providing free study to the students. Quite many students have got connected with us through our YouTube channel as well,” said Guru Rahman.
COVID-19 has not only caused problems for the students but the hundreds of thousands of teachers and non-teaching staff associated with the coaching institutes. As per an estimate, around 400,000 people have been left jobless due to closure of coaching institutes in Bihar as a result of COVID-19 outbreak in the past nine months.
Coaching association officials said around 400,000 people directly linked with these institutes, such as teachers, employees, hostel and mess staff have no work to do now as all the institutes have remained closed in the past nine months after COVID-19 outbreak.
Adversely affected study
“It’s strange that everything, from cinema halls to shopping malls, has opened now but coaching institutes are still closed,” a coaching association official said wishing not to be named. They said the closure of the coaching institutes has also adversely affected the study of the students preparing for matriculation and various competitive examinations.
“Something needs to be done urgently to save a huge population battling starvation. It has been a long time since these institutes are closed. The government must also take care of students whose future is at stake,” Coaching Association of Bihar member Anand Jaiswal said. Jaiswal runs Mentors Eduserv Coaching Institute.
Thousands of coaching institutes have mushroomed across the state in the past two decades after quality of education at the government-run schools and colleges deteriorated to an alarming level. Of them, around 4,000 coaching institutes are functioning in Patna alone but many have shut down in the past few months since they didn’t have money to pay salary to their teachers, non-teaching staff and rent for their buildings.