Leaving hundreds of students and parents fuming ahead of board and entrance examinations, at least eight FIITJEE (Forum for Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination) coaching centres across north India have abruptly shut down over the past week.
FIITJEE coaching centres have shut down in several locations including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Varanasi and Patna. According to a report in NDTV, officials said that several teachers at the institute quit en masse due to unpaid salaries, resulting in the closures. FIITJEE reportedly has 72 centres across 41 cities, with over 300 employees.
Many parents have filed police complaints, alleging that the private coaching institution did not provide them with any prior notice or refunds. Several pictures and videos showed parents protesting outside the institute's now-shut branches.
A centre in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut was the latest to close recently. The centre's administration initially tried to arrange for teachers from Noida, but that lasted only for a couple of days. Following this, they had to shut down the institute.
"Several FIITJEE coaching institutes were shut around six months ago in some states ... After that, they told us that these centres would not shut down and that we should make the payments," a parent of a student, studying at the FIITJEE institute in Meerut, said.
The person added that he had already invested Rs 6 lakh. "They took everyone's money and told us that classes would go on. Even when the teachers left, they said we would manage," he said. Demanding solution to the crisis, he stated that the students' morale have weakened.
"An outgoing FIITJEE teacher told us that most faculty members are leaving as they have not been paid salaries for several months," said another parent who had recently deposited Rs 4 lakh fee.
There have been growing concerns about FIITJEE's financial stability and issues stemming from recent administrative and civic actions against its branches for violating licensing and fire safety regulations.
The turmoil escalated just after the conclusion of the academic session for students appearing in Session-1 of JEE Mains on January 22, 23, and 24, which serves as both the entrance exam for engineering colleges and the preliminary test for IIT admissions.
DK Goel, a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT-Delhi, founded FIITJEE in 1992. The coaching institute offers special training for engineering entrance exams and NEET entrance coaching.
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