‘Coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres': Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in Kota
Kota is a hub of coaching centres where students from across the country come to prepare for several competitive exams, mainly for engineering and medical admissions such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) respectively.
Coming down heavily on coaching centres, the Vice President said that they have become 'black holes for talent in regimented silos', indicating that they don't provide much opportunities for the students to grow, which is hurting their future.
"Coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres. They have become black holes for talent in regimented silos. Coaching centres are mushrooming. This is menacing for our youth who are our future... We must address this malice that is worrisomely concerning. We cannot allow our education to be so smeared and tarnished," Dhankhar said.
'Advertising not optimal use of money'
He also criticized the centres for aggressive advertising and added that it was not the right use of money that people pay to study there.
'Billboards, advertisements in newspapers, where does the money come from? It comes from those who either take loans or who painstakingly paid to make their future brighter. Surely, this is not optimal utilisation of money. These advertisements are alluring but they are eyesores for our civilisational ethos,' he said.
The Vice President slammed the coaching centres for 'robotising' the brains of the students and obsessing over perfect grades. 'The obsession with perfect grades and standardized scores have compromised curiosity, which is an inalienable facet of human intelligence. The seats are limited but coaching centers are all over the country. They prepare the minds of students for years together and robotize them. Their thinking has absolutely stymied. Lot of psychological problems can arise out of it,' he said.
Several student suicides are reported in Kota every year, mostly due to the pressure of studies and not being able to perform in exams.
Stressing upon the importance of enhanching skills, Dhankhar said the coaching centres should use their infrastructure to transform into skill centres and 'converge to restore sanity in education.'
The Vice President talked about the dangers of relying on foreign technology systems too much and said that in the modern world, the armies have been replaced by algorithms.
'Nations will no longer be compromised or colonised by armies, but armies have now been replaced by algorithms. Sovereignty will not be lost through invasions, but through dependence on foreign digital infrastructure," he said.
'If we get technology driven equipment from outside, especially in sectors such as defence, that country has the power to bring us to a standstill,' he added.
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