“Consistency and regularity are extremely important for competitive exams”
Rajesh Maheshwari, Founder Director – Allen Career Institute, advises students and parents on coaching and the need to keep focussed
Can you share your vision for Allen Career Institute and its students?
My vision is to ensure that every child who has the potential and wants to do something great for his or her village, city, nation or society, is given the best resources to be able to do so. I want more and more students from India’s remotest of the places to be able to study with the best colleges in the nation and limitations of area, money, resources should never come in their way. If they have it in them and are ready to work hard for it, we are there to support them in every manner we can.
How important is it to recognize talent and ability at a very young age?
At a young developing age, it is very important for a student to build a strong foundation. Often you will see that if the basics are cleared from a very young age, the child grabs more quickly and effectively at later stages. So it is very important to recognize talent and ability at a young age so that the same can be polished and nurtured, by the time the child grows.
Why is coaching necessary to crack the IIT JEE well? Do students feel very stressed and pressured when they are studying for the JEE?
To fight the most prestigious examination of the nation, which lakhs of students from all around the country take, one needs an extra edge over others. Coaching provides that extra edge to the students. The experienced and specially trained faculty team help the students prepare for the national competition focusing specifically on the exam pattern. The tests conducted by them help the students analyze their preparation and give them the simulation before the actual exam.
There is no such thing as pressure or stress for a hard working student. If a student knows how to stay focused on his/ her goal, is attentive in class, completes assignments as and when given, doesn’t let their doubts prevail for long, they will never feel any pressure.
How can a coaching class like Allen Career Institute help students to calm down and focus on studies rather than feel stressed?
As lakhs of students trust us for the right career guidance, it is our responsibility to help them stay focused and calm during their preparation. We, at Allen, conduct various extracurricular activities from time to time apart from the regular academic activities. There are visits from famous motivational speakers, musical nights, bhajan sandhyas, open sessions, fun day activities, yoga sessions and various other activities that help the students lead a stress-free life. Moreover, our dedicated academic faculty team and psychological counsellors are available 24/7 to serve the students, clear that doubts and other queries, both personal and academic.
Some students do well in the JEE, but there are thousands of others who do not make it. What is your advice to such students so that they can make proper career decisions?
Not every child is the same. Each of them has a different talent and ability. So while some students make it to the IITs, the others who are not selected should never lose heart. There are so many other good colleges and universities apart from the IITs that will help you grab your dream jobs. It entirely depends on the talent and hard work of a student.
When you conduct different talent recognizing competitions, what difference do you see between students from urban areas and students from rural areas?
For us, a student is a student. It doesn’t matter whether he belongs to the urban or rural areas. The only difference that lies between them is the access to a number of resources. The urban students have better access to the academic resources as compared to the rural students. But, we have seen the rural students outshining those from the urban areas with their hard work and dedication.
Your students are quite young in age so parents play a huge part in their lives. Can you share with us some of the concerns that parents have any their children and their education?
Majorly, the parents come to us with concerns like: Where will the student land according to his potential? What is the best branch for them? How will their ward fight the national competition? What score or rank will they get?
When parents have unrealistic expectations from their children, what can be done and what should be told to the parents so that they don’t stress the child?
Sometimes the parents don’t even realize that they are creating indirect pressure on their wards. “We have endured a lot to give you this kind of education”, “we never had these resources when we were your age”, “Mr. X’s son/ daughter has landed a job at that famous company on a huge package, how lucky is he!” are some of the things that parents should always avoid saying to their wards. The parents must realize the potential of their child and constantly ask them about their concerns or queries, making them feel that they are constantly available for them despite their performance in the competition. They must ensure their ward, that no matter what, they have confidence in the abilities of their children and are sure that their child would do well in life.
What avenues are open to students who miss the JEE score but still are very bright in their studies? What could be their next best option?
The students who are unable to get through the IITs need not lose heart. They still have opportunities like the NITs, IIITs, state colleges and other national universities. There are many living examples like Satya Nadela (CEO, Microsoft) who could never get into the IITs and is still the CEO of the world’s largest computer software company and he graduated from the Manipal Institute of Technology. So, it mostly depends upon students’ dedication and hard work how can they make it big in their careers.
What do you think about interest in the subjects to study for IIT? Often children are sent for science because they score well, but they are not asked if they are interested.
A child’s interest should be of paramount importance. Parents should never force the students to take up the subjects they are not interested in. By doing this they not only create a pressure on them but, also clad them with unnecessary expectations. So the first step should be a proper counselling of the student during his early high school years. Counselling would not only help the student to understand his/ her area of interest but, would also open a dearth of avenues to the students and their parents which they might not be much aware of like nanotechnology, biotechnology etc. Parents should understand that every child is unique and should be given a freedom to chose their own career path.
When the students are coached in doing well at the entrance exam, how do you also make sure that they develop knowledge also?
When a student comes to us, we do not only coach them for their competitive examinations but, we also prepare them for life. Coaching institutes are often called ‘cram schools’ but, we don’t follow suit. For us, clearing their concepts and building a strong foundation holds utmost importance. At Allen, faculty members are specially trained for this purpose. Our faculty team passes through various levels of tests and demos themselves where we ensure that their teaching technique matches with our methodology before a batch is finally given to them.
What should students look for in themselves if they want to start coaching for the IIT JEE? I mean what qualities and abilities should they have?
The most important qualities that a student should possess for the preparation of national competitive examinations are consistency and regularity. They should be regular with their hard work and dedication. Before coming for the preparation of entrance examination, they should completely dedicate themselves towards their goal and should maintain the same consistency throughout. Studying 16 hours a day just before the final competition won’t fetch them much. But, if they make it a regular practice to study for a few hours daily with a disciplined routine, they are sure to achieve their goals. All these things combined with an optimistic approach and determinationare the keys to success.
Your parting thoughts for our readers?
I would like to leave a few lines of my favourite song in the end. Kisi ke kaam jo aaye use insaan kahte hain, Paraya dard jo apnaye use insan kahte hain.. Agar galti rulaati hai, toh raahein bhi dikhaati hai Manuj galti ka putla hai, jo aksar ho hi jaati hai, Jo kar le thik galti ko use insaan kahte hain
Not every child is the same. Each of them has a different talent and ability. So while some students make it to the IITs, the others who are not selected should never lose heart. There are so many other good colleges and universities apart from the IITs that will help you grab your dream jobs. It entirely depends on the talent and hard work of a student.