Delhi coaching hub tragedy: Why UPSC aspirants flock to poorly-run institutes

Aman Tyagi, 23, pays around Rs 1.75 lakh as tution fee, in addition to Rs 18,000 for accommodation which does not include electricity and laundry charges.

The Supreme Court on Monday equated Delhi's cramped and ill-constructed UPSC coaching centres to "death chambers... taking away the lives of young ones coming from different parts of the country." On July 27, three students had died by drowning when heavy rains flooded the basement library of a coaching centre in Old Rajendra Nagar.

“What happened on July 27 was horrifying. The thought that ‘it could have been me’ has haunted me since then,” recalls a 23-year-old Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirant, who luckily left for home around 1 pm, hours before three students drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, at Rajendra Nagar in Delhi.

The incident claimed the lives of Shreya Yadav, Nivin Dalwin and Tanya Soni, who belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana, respectively.

In a damning indictment, the owner of Rau’s IAS Study Circle could not produce the valid documents that are required to run the coaching centre in the basement.

A veritable death trap

“Streets and even institutes often get flooded during monsoon. Naked electric wires are entangled and left dangling, leading to electrocution…The tragic incident has created fear in the minds of [UPSC] aspirants and their guardians, especially those, who don’t live in Delhi,” the student told Moneycontrol.

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Her panic-stricken parents have urged her to attend the classes online, at least till monsoon is over.

In the bustling heart of Delhi's coaching hub, fear is the key among UPSC students and parents alike, who are trying to come to terms with the tragedy. A palpable sense of dread haunts the busy streets, where hope to crack the UPSC code springs eternal among countless young minds.

The unsettling trend has led many aspirants to reconsider the safety and mental well-being offered by traditional coaching institutes.

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“It's not a newfound thought. However, when you switch to online mode and see toppers coming from famous coaching institutes, traditional mode of teaching becomes a default option. It’s up to a candidate or his/her parents to make the crucial decision,” said 25-year-old Pawan Gupta, a software developer from Rohini in west Delhi.

Gupta has a punishing daily schedule. Though he works for around 10 hours in a day, he still manages to set aside a good five hours for his UPSC preparation. He has no time to socialise or for any other recreational activities. He feels that the craze for these coaching institutes won’t change, despite the recent tragedy.

“There will be no let up in enrolments in these coaching institutes. Delhi is the nerve centre for UPSC, which attracts aspirants from far and wide in the country,” he reasoned.

The UPSC Mains Exam 2024 starts on September 20.

Of rising rent and mental health concerns

A day after three students drowned, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed 13 illegally run basements of coaching centres in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar. The sealed coaching centres were found to be operating in basements brazenly violating rules.

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However, several aspirants told Moneycontrol that the violations were going on for a long time.

Many students have been living on the edge because of the exorbitant cost of coaching and lack of mental health support. For instance, Anjali, a-26-year-old aspirant, who hailed from Akola in Maharashtra, died by suicide in her paying guest (PG) accommodation on July 21.

Delhi Police shared the information on August 3 after a suicide note purportedly written by Anjali surfaced online. The note highlighted financial strain due to the rising rent of the hostel, among other reasons, for Anjali to end her life.

Aman Tyagi, 23, pays around Rs 1.75 lakh as tuition fee, in addition to Rs 18,000 for accommodation, excluding electricity and laundry charges.

“My parents are worried because I suffered from dengue last year due to waterlogging. I have stopped stepping out of my PG accommodation to avoid waterlogging woes,”

Earlier, Moneycontrol reported that death by suicide  have rattled coaching institutes and some of them are trying to take action to ensure the mental well-being of their wards. However, the lack of awareness and education about mental health among institute staff members, students and parents are a major challenge to overcome the looming crisis.

Lack of governance

Last September, a fire broke out at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar, where students, lacking an emergency exit, were compelled to jump from windows.

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“Despite numerous complaints, MCD officials failed to take the necessary actions. It often takes such tragic incidents to prompt a response, but by then, it’s too little, too late,” said a 24-year-old UPSC aspirant, who lives in the same neighbourhood.

Last year, the Centre issued guidelines regulating coaching institutes to address the need for a legal framework and manage the unregulated growth of private coaching centres. It also notified that coaching centres be penalised up to Rs 1 lakh or their registration be cancelled for charging exorbitant fees that cause undue stress, leading students to die by suicide, or for other malpractices.

The guidelines also stipulate that the tuition fees for different courses shall be fair and reasonable.

A case in point, if a student has paid for the course in full and is leaving it within the stipulated time frame, the candidate will be refunded the fees deposited earlier for the remaining period — on a pro-rata basis — within 10 days. Similarly, if the student is staying in a hostel of the coaching centre, he/she is also entitled to a refund of the room and board charges.

Various institutes questioned the idea of fees being governed by the government, arguing rent and cost of living vary across neighbourhoods.

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While the guidelines are broad, experts said they are not stringent enough to curb the unregulated growth of private coaching centres.

Abhinay Sharma, managing partner of law firm ASL Partners, said that the coaching centres should not be allowed to compel students to attend classes on a regular basis. Even if attendance has to be maintained, the minimum requirement should be low and reasonable, he said.

He also cited that coaching centres should not be allowed to adopt ‘batch segregation’ on the basis of performance. Demoting a student to a lower-performing batch will diminish his/her morale and motivation to improve, Sharma said.

“It’s imperative to ensure a comfortable seating arrangement for every student. Most coaching centres make students sit in uncomfortable and cramped spaces, including on the floor,” he added.