‘Coaching Important To Familiarise Students With Exam, Improves Rank’, Says IIT Delhi Professor

Entrance examinations like JEE and NEET require consistent and dedicated preparation. However, because there is stiff competition amongst students, sometimes preparing for JEE and NEET by oneself isn’t enough. That is where JEE/NEET coaching comes in. Thousands of students start preparing for these examinations months and years in advance. But, when is the right time to start coaching for JEE/NEET?

Careers360 hosted a webinar to help students figure out the right time to begin their JEE/NEET coaching. We were joined by Dr. Sanjiva Prasad, Professor (formerly HOD), Dept. of Computer Science And Engineering, IIT, Delhi, who spoke to students to help them understand how they can go about figuring out when they should begin their JEE/NEET coaching. Here are the excerpts from the webinar you must not miss.

Q. What is your take on whether or not a student needs to go for coaching to be a part of IITs and NITs?

Prasad | One of the best students I ever had, had done coaching. Coaching has an important role to play in keeping students concentrated and focused in the long run. I’m sure if I were to write the exam today, I’d find it much harder than doing it in the 1980s when there was no pressure. The numbers today are huge. I don’t immediately say that one shouldn’t do coaching because it has an important role to play in familiarising students with the pattern of the exam, the expected skills they need to have, etc. It can improve your rank as well.

Q. Given that IIT Delhi has some of the best students in the country, have you encountered students who have not gone to coaching and were still able to make it to your class?

Prasad | Yes, definitely. Every year we have a few exceptional students who make it without coaching. One of the things that set them apart is that they can concentrate and work for a sustained period of time, over months - something that they learn the hard way. This is something that students learn in coaching as well, the dedication to sit everyday for a few hours, focusing on their studies. It need not be more than a couple of hours, but the regularity is more important than the total amount of coaching one does.

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Q. Do you think online coaching has an inherent disadvantage because it doesn’t bring in the discipline and dedication at the level that one gets at the classroom education?

Prasad | One of the reasons I didn’t need coaching was that during normal school hours, I was alert to what was being taught. School teaches you many things that way. You learn to sit with others and work through difficult material together. There is definitely the element that you don’t have your peers around you in online coaching classes, not physically at least, which can make online learning a challenge. In traditional classes, for instance, you get a sense of how hard or easy the topic is as you get to discuss it with others, and gauge inherently where you stand. Teachers also get a fair estimate of how their material has gone across to their students. That’s a big reason why in-person classes are important.

Q. There are many students who go to coaching but don’t attend school enough. Based on your experience, how much of your class comprises those students who have gone through schooling without coaching and those who did coaching?

Prasad | Good students, the ones that do well overall in IITs, are mostly those who went through schooling and did a moderate amount of coaching. This group of students does significantly better than others. In general, school teaches you how to balance your schedule much better. Most students who don’t go to school and only go to coaching are externally driven to conform to a schedule. Once they get into the IITs, such students find it very hard to keep that up.

Q. Are you saying that students who only go through coaching even in school years might get into IITs but may not be as successful as those who come through the schooling system?

Prasad | If you did a complete analysis, my hunch is that, this is what you will find. Those who went to regular school learnt a lot more because they were able to make connections, think in more creative ways, etc. Also, the kind of work you do to get into the IITs is very different from what you do once you’re in the IITs.

Schooling Is As Important As Coaching

Q. In your experience, do you think there is there any relationship between those who were toppers in JEE and those that excelled in the IITs?

Prasad | Yes, people who were in the top 100 were all extraordinarily smart, and they have all done well in their careers. By and large, those who did well have done so not because of coaching necessarily, but because they were intrinsically very intelligent. But coaching ensured that they didn’t get distracted. This is the case with any discipline, not just engineering.

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Q. You talked of burnout and we also see a suicidal tendency in students who are locked in the coaching system. Parents are also inclined to think that the easiest way for their ward to get into IIT is for him/her to go through coaching. Have you known any students who were average in school but because they were brute-forced into the coaching institution, it created that magic in the child that s/he started excelling in the academics?

Prasad | I recognise the pressure there is on students nowadays and the unfortunate suicides that happen, which was the case when I was an undergraduate as well. And usually, it wasn’t that the students who committed suicide were doing badly. In fact, these were amongst the brightest of students, who were doing extraordinary well. And it wasn’t because of academic pressure; it was, usually, pressure from home.

I will really urge parents to not put a huge amount of pressure on students to get into IIT. I hope the education system grows in directions that can accommodate students who have a different set of interests. Engineering and medicine aren't the only two things needed for a successful career.

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Q. Is there a certain profile of students that make it to the IIT, or do you think that an average student, through a rigorous process, can also make it?

Prasad | Yes, they can make it to the IIT, and the rigour really helps. But they have the next 4-5 years of their future out there which is much harder than what is in the coaching class. I say this because they’re up against very bright students and the environment is very competitive. I would urge parents to take their foot off the accelerator and not pressurise their children too much. The important thing is to recognise when the students are finding coaching a stifling experience rather than a learning experience. Students who are focused and can manage their time can do wonderfully in IITs. But they are not average students who crack the exam because of coaching. Coaching just gives them the focus.

Q. What should a student inspired to get into the IITs do after 10th - join coaching or prepare for class 12 boards exams?

Prasad | The answer depends very much on how you manage your time. The JEE exam is based on your class 11 and 12 studies. But, it never hurts to learn a little bit more than that. Once you’ve finished our class 10th, that is the time when you should consider how much coaching you need. Some students need two hours everyday, while some students may need it thrice a week. I would never suggest anything more than that. I would also say that one has to prepare in a strategic way.

So, you solve a few problems and see where you get stuck. Come back to those problems a little later and keep revisiting the material that you encounter. One of the great things about going to school and also coaching is that the coaching material may get way ahead of the school curriculum, but when you encounter it again, that’s where the learning takes place. I would suggest that you get done with class 10 first, because that in itself comes with a lot of expectations, and then consider coaching. Also, be very clear in communicating with your parents how much coaching you need.

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Q. Given that the JEE exam is based on the NCERT syllabus, what is your advice for a student in the state board preparing for JEE? Should they join coaching, given that it will also push students to work harder?

Prasad | It is not so much about changing the syllabus or the school for that matter. There are books that will help you prepare for JEE that go a little beyond the class 12 syllabus. Just going by the requirements of the different boards is not enough to clear the exam. The syllabus of the board is only the baseline. However, the coaching material does give you certain problems that are a little beyond the class 12 syllabus and push you to think above and beyond what’s being taught in school. Secondly, the pressure given by teachers won’t always help you in your studies, or get you ahead in life. Only meaningful learning will do that. Every student reacts differently to pressure. Some students may be compelled by it, while others may perform worse than they would otherwise.

Watch Now | Webinar: When Should You Put Your Child For JEE/NEET Coaching?