Huge rents in collusion with Netas: Students expose rut at IAS academies in Delhi

| Updated: 29 July, 2024 5:12 pm IST

NEW DELHI: Student protests are ongoing in Rajendra Nagar after the tragic flooding at Rau’s IAS Study Circle on Saturday, July 26, which claimed the lives of at least three students. This has brought to light other troubling issues that were previously overlooked.

Among the issues raised by students are the high fees charged by these coaching institutes and the exorbitant rents demanded by landlords.

Shivesh Kaushal, one of the protesting IAS aspirants, told The New Indian, “The aspirations of students are commercialized here. It’s all about making money. The coaching centres, landlords, and libraries are just focused on making money.”

Rajendra Nagar, situated in central Delhi, is a hub of many coaching institutes, primarily for IAS preparations. Students from all over the country come here for preparation, resulting in the commercialization of the area. Multiple coaching centres try to provide libraries and other required facilities without proper infrastructure. The same is true for rental rooms, with prices hiked up for minimal space.

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Another aspirant shared a rate list, saying, “They charge 4,000 rupees for 24 hours in libraries with lavish infrastructure, which shouldn’t be in underground libraries. For just a small room, they charge 20,000 to 30,000 rupees, plus other expenses like food. The average family income of students here is less than 50,000 rupees a month. If this isn’t a money-making business, then what is?”

Another question raised is the adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which no coaching institute in the area follows. Rau’s IAS was running an underground library passed off as a storeroom. Many libraries and coaching institutes not following SOPs were sealed on Sunday, July 28, only after the matter came to light. Currently, the number remains 13, but there are likely more.

A protesting Female student caught by the police at Rajendra Nagar. (Photo: Tejaswi Pandey)

Kaushal further added, “Everyone has a profit-oriented mindset. No one follows SOPs, and this is not new. They have been running these institutes and libraries for years. Why does no one take notice? This is just a money game. Everyone is involved. They have high revenues, which are enough to get these loopholes passed through administration.”

As countless issues faced by students coming from across the country with high hopes and expectations were never raised, this tragedy has given them a voice to finally address them.