What is Mukherjee Nagar cheating in the name of UPSC preparation?

It was the beginning of the 90s, when the process of opening coaching classes here started. At that time there was some tradition of Guru-disciple here. Now the situation is such that Mukherjee Nagar of Delhi, which is called the center of UPSC, has completely transformed into a coaching market. After Covid, the number of students preparing for UPSC in Mukherjee Nagar has increased significantly. Rajiv Sehgal, who has been doing property dealing work in Nehru Vihar for years, says that we have seen Mukherjee Nagar, Nehru Vihar, Gandhi Vihar, Sant Nagar transforming from open areas into such dense settlements. Before Covid, houses used to be of two to three floors. Students could easily get some expensive and cheap rooms. But now the situation of Mukherjee Nagar is such that there are houses up to five floors. But even after that one has to work hard. People have converted one room into a PG by putting three beds each.

Rajiv says that after Covid, it is not known from where so many students have come to Mukherjee Nagar. Here the room is not vacant, there it is put on rent. There was never this much crowd in Mukherjee Nagar before. The rooms which were earlier available for Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 are now not easily available for Rs 12 to 13 thousand. Mukherjee Nagar- Forget about Nehru Vihar, even Wazirabad and Timarpur are filled with students.

Videos went viral, teachers became celebrities and crowds started growing?

Nidhi Mishra, who has been preparing here for a long time, said that people had enough time during the lockdown during the Corona period. Internet usage among people increased very rapidly. Because of this, motivational videos of teachers teaching in coaching also went viral. Then the coaching teachers also started posting videos of their classrooms on social media. Small videos on these also started going viral. Along with this, video clips of candidates who have cleared UPSC also went viral. This had a deep impact on students and parents. These things were presented in such a way that a rickshaw puller’s son can become an IAS, a vegetable seller’s son can become an IAS, so why not you or why not your son. But it is not told what was the qualification of that rickshaw puller’s son. Parents are also watching the same video and students are also watching the same video. In such a situation, it was bound to have an impact on the students and their parents. Because of this, a large number of students are coming here for preparation. The effect of the video going viral was that the teacher became a celebrity and the number of students attending his coaching started increasing. Whatever he says, his views go into millions.

Depression in children is visible, why don’t hostels pay attention?

Prati Yadav, who came from Azamgarh to Nehru Vihar for preparation, says that during the lockdown, many people had to migrate to villages. Many people lost their jobs in the private sector. Because of this, people have also become disillusioned with private jobs. This is also a big reason for this. Here Rahul Yadav, who has been preparing for the last seven years, tells about a video. This video is of a celebrity teacher here. That video also went quite viral. In the video, the teacher says that if you read the UPSC syllabus once, then you may not be able to become a collector, but you will definitely become a responsible citizen.

Rahul tells that if any student does not have the capability to prepare for civil. If he can do better in some other field then why should he prepare for civil services. The biggest thing is that if there is no money in the pocket then what will we do as a responsible citizen? In such a situation, the question also arises whether those who are studying in other streams, are they not responsible citizens?

​Why are students reaching Mukherjee Nagar after 12th?

Sagar Aggarwal, who has been involved in the book business here for years, says that earlier students used to come here after completing their graduation. Children used to take admission in coaching for UPSC preparation after careful consideration. That means, we used to prepare for civil as well, but after Covid, the whole scenario has changed. Here, immediately after passing 12th, students are coming to take admission in UPSC. Because they are told through coaching that if you become an IAS in 21-22 years, then later on you will soon reach the secretary level. Whereas Mahendra Pandey, who has written Mains many times, says that UPSC preparation demands a lot of maturity, which comes after graduation. The time that children should have spent in the rich universities and colleges of the country, they are spending in matchbox-like rooms here. Earlier, very few children used to come after 12th. But coaching operators influence students through social media and they start preparing at an immature stage. When these students have spent Rs 10 to 12 lakh in four years, then they will know what to do?

If everyone understands responsibility, then it won’t be that much of a mistake.

VK Aggarwal, who has previously prepared for UPSC on this subject, says that the children who come to Kota to prepare are of a very young age. Their mental intensity is at its peak. Because of this, cases of suicide are coming there. It is not that there is no pressure on the students living in Mukherjee Nagar. They are many times more depressed than them. But they are mature, because of this they do not commit suicide. It would not be surprising if students in Mukherjee Nagar area also start committing suicide in the coming times.

Ranjit Ranraj came to Mukherjee Nagar 20 years ago from Bihar to prepare. He did not get success in UPSC but he remained from Mukherjee Nagar. He says that it costs at least Rs 4 to 5 lakh annually to stay here and prepare. The coaching fees of a student is Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 lakh. After this, room for 10 to 12 thousand rupees per month. The expenditure of a student every month is at least Rs 18 to 20 thousand. He says that the students coming here to take coaching should come and stay for at least two to four months. The environment should understand how and what we have to do. I can say this on the basis of my long experience. Because there is a different kind of struggle here to live, eat, study and at every level. If success is not achieved as per hard work, students start sinking into depression. Student Raghavendra told that he has been preparing for the last four years. Did coaching for the first two years. Now I do self study. But I have seen here that the children who pass. The role of coaching in them is negligible. Synopsis is taught to students in the name of syllabus. Many times it seems that coaching misleads us instead of teaching us. Because successful people tell to read newspapers and study NCERT. The coaching people say read our notes.

The way UPSC is changing itself, how are the coaching staff able to change themselves accordingly? He told that if a student passes this examination, then his credit should go to him and not to any coaching owner.

Report BY NBT GOLD