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๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป : The Dark Side of India's Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) preparation culture
(also for NEET)
The story of delicate lives going through hell at a tender age
Thread Cont'd...
(also for NEET)
The story of delicate lives going through hell at a tender age
Thread Cont'd...
๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ
This is by no means meant to put down IITs or IITians in any sense. I'll be stating facts backed by real life incidents.
This thread is about majority, so don't directly compare it to your personal experience
Dark Side begins from 20th tweet
This is by no means meant to put down IITs or IITians in any sense. I'll be stating facts backed by real life incidents.
This thread is about majority, so don't directly compare it to your personal experience
Dark Side begins from 20th tweet
1/
Part I - Victory is the Defeat
10th board exams have just ended, and students know how they've performed. The confident ones are already busy in JEE/NEET coaching institutes' admission entrance tests. Majority applies in multiple institutes
Part I - Victory is the Defeat
10th board exams have just ended, and students know how they've performed. The confident ones are already busy in JEE/NEET coaching institutes' admission entrance tests. Majority applies in multiple institutes
2/
Some students see their friends join X institute, some are recommended to join Y by their relative brothers/sisters. And students from below Tier 2 places, are approached by various institutes' salespeople disguised as well wishers of students
Some students see their friends join X institute, some are recommended to join Y by their relative brothers/sisters. And students from below Tier 2 places, are approached by various institutes' salespeople disguised as well wishers of students
3/
These 'well wishers' approach local tuitions and propagate their 'well wishes' in the tuitions to naive 14/15 year old kids. Each local tuition has their fixed institute as partner.
They then hard sell the admission to parents, who usually live in their small worlds
These 'well wishers' approach local tuitions and propagate their 'well wishes' in the tuitions to naive 14/15 year old kids. Each local tuition has their fixed institute as partner.
They then hard sell the admission to parents, who usually live in their small worlds
4/
Simultaneously, they don't show that getting into institute XYZ is easy, students must crack multiple tests to get an admission there. It is meant to be a screening test, which is the case in many institutes, but for the majority all over India, everyone get an admission
Simultaneously, they don't show that getting into institute XYZ is easy, students must crack multiple tests to get an admission there. It is meant to be a screening test, which is the case in many institutes, but for the majority all over India, everyone get an admission
5/
Lack of career choice and exposure makes 3.6 Mn Indian students to choose either from JEE or NEET. Like it or not, other streams like BSc and Arts are considered inferior (by majority of Indian parents and students)
Lack of career choice and exposure makes 3.6 Mn Indian students to choose either from JEE or NEET. Like it or not, other streams like BSc and Arts are considered inferior (by majority of Indian parents and students)
6/
Lack of opportunity in small towns, low quality of education and and incompetent local institutes is the reason for leaving the hometown and moving to the nearest city with a branch of a major institute, or directly to Kota, seems to be the only option in front of them
Lack of opportunity in small towns, low quality of education and and incompetent local institutes is the reason for leaving the hometown and moving to the nearest city with a branch of a major institute, or directly to Kota, seems to be the only option in front of them
7/
Part II - Building the Castle of Glass
Students have joined institutes, but not everyone is content. Many wanted to go to X institute but their marks didn't allow so.
But, nothing matters now, except your rank and batch. You've now entered the cutthroat competition
Part II - Building the Castle of Glass
Students have joined institutes, but not everyone is content. Many wanted to go to X institute but their marks didn't allow so.
But, nothing matters now, except your rank and batch. You've now entered the cutthroat competition
8/
Leaving friends, family, leisure, comfort, home, students have now started a new life with only one goal, IIT (consider NEET counterpart story for the whole thread yourself)
Now their self respect/esteem/confidence, everything depends on the rank they're at
Leaving friends, family, leisure, comfort, home, students have now started a new life with only one goal, IIT (consider NEET counterpart story for the whole thread yourself)
Now their self respect/esteem/confidence, everything depends on the rank they're at
9/
Majority has left their hometown, now their living in hostels or in strangers' homes as paying guests. Institute starts bombarding v^2 - u^2 = 2as, and many of the students are blown away by kinematics. Starting studies 1 week before unit tests was the ordinary ritual...
Majority has left their hometown, now their living in hostels or in strangers' homes as paying guests. Institute starts bombarding v^2 - u^2 = 2as, and many of the students are blown away by kinematics. Starting studies 1 week before unit tests was the ordinary ritual...
10/
... but now, look away for 10 seconds and you can't get what happened in the meanwhile.
But the will and determination of the students keeps them stuck to the curriculum
... but now, look away for 10 seconds and you can't get what happened in the meanwhile.
But the will and determination of the students keeps them stuck to the curriculum
11/
Part III - The Great Brainwash
Students are brainwashed slowly over a significant amount of time.
@naval's podcast introduced me to the power of compounding. The good it can do must not be underestimated, same is with the negative aspect, bleed daily, you won't survive
Part III - The Great Brainwash
Students are brainwashed slowly over a significant amount of time.
@naval's podcast introduced me to the power of compounding. The good it can do must not be underestimated, same is with the negative aspect, bleed daily, you won't survive
12/
The brainwash includes lies like "IIT nahi toh life barbaad" ("If not IIT, life's wasted"), "You will have to survive somehow financially if you get into lower college", or "People will have a different level of respect for you if you have IIT's tag"
The brainwash includes lies like "IIT nahi toh life barbaad" ("If not IIT, life's wasted"), "You will have to survive somehow financially if you get into lower college", or "People will have a different level of respect for you if you have IIT's tag"
13/
Day and night, aspirants, talk about things like "IIT Kharagpur's 2,150 acre campus", or "Google's Rs. 1 Cr. package". Students eat, drink and sleep IIT. "Now I've to adjust with other people in this small room, but after JEE, I'll have a room facing Powai Lake"
Day and night, aspirants, talk about things like "IIT Kharagpur's 2,150 acre campus", or "Google's Rs. 1 Cr. package". Students eat, drink and sleep IIT. "Now I've to adjust with other people in this small room, but after JEE, I'll have a room facing Powai Lake"
14/
We are humans cuz we make mistakes.
During my JEE prep, we had only one God, @kalpitveerwal. Cuz only God makes no mistakes. And Kalpit scored 360/360, for the first time in the history of JEE, someone had scored 100%. Sharing the same institute brand with him, I was proud
We are humans cuz we make mistakes.
During my JEE prep, we had only one God, @kalpitveerwal. Cuz only God makes no mistakes. And Kalpit scored 360/360, for the first time in the history of JEE, someone had scored 100%. Sharing the same institute brand with him, I was proud
15/
Society also plays a huge role in feeding lies. Neighbors, relatives, family friends, all talk about the same thing, IITs are something different (yes they are, but this doesn't make it more important than human lives, coming on this point in detail, shortly)
Society also plays a huge role in feeding lies. Neighbors, relatives, family friends, all talk about the same thing, IITs are something different (yes they are, but this doesn't make it more important than human lives, coming on this point in detail, shortly)
16/
Part IV - Walk on Fire
Students face rude homeowners/hostel wardens, tasteless food, sleepless nights, loads of sheets and DPPs (Daily Practice Papers), homesickness, loneliness, competition, guilt, fear, frustration, all at the same time.
Part IV - Walk on Fire
Students face rude homeowners/hostel wardens, tasteless food, sleepless nights, loads of sheets and DPPs (Daily Practice Papers), homesickness, loneliness, competition, guilt, fear, frustration, all at the same time.
17/
This image used to make me weep everytime I remembered the quote while eating
This image used to make me weep everytime I remembered the quote while eating
18/
Teachers had their unique styles of humiliating students. Fellow aspirants weren't less, the whole game was to put others down. You could hardly find people who'd help you when things go north. "Yaha koi kisi ka เคธเคเคพ nahi" was true most of the time
Teachers had their unique styles of humiliating students. Fellow aspirants weren't less, the whole game was to put others down. You could hardly find people who'd help you when things go north. "Yaha koi kisi ka เคธเคเคพ nahi" was true most of the time
19/
Compounding has done it's job. Top 3% is doing good, but majority has now sunk deep into negative emotions like guilt and self hatred. Almost no one is content, everyone is after coming 1st in the institute. But one few at the top know, that the real competition is national
Compounding has done it's job. Top 3% is doing good, but majority has now sunk deep into negative emotions like guilt and self hatred. Almost no one is content, everyone is after coming 1st in the institute. But one few at the top know, that the real competition is national
20/
Part V : The Dark Side
Not all shoulders can handle the burden and pressure. Some succumb to it.
Kota is also known as the suicide capital of India.
"19 students committed suicide in 2018 which was significalty higher than 7 in 2017" is what news will tell you...
Part V : The Dark Side
Not all shoulders can handle the burden and pressure. Some succumb to it.
Kota is also known as the suicide capital of India.
"19 students committed suicide in 2018 which was significalty higher than 7 in 2017" is what news will tell you...
21/
The inside story is that many suicide stories don't even make it out to the masses. Institutes suppress the news with money influence. And in other cases, parents don't want it to come out, they have their sorrows to handle.
The worst part is, no other students care.
The inside story is that many suicide stories don't even make it out to the masses. Institutes suppress the news with money influence. And in other cases, parents don't want it to come out, they have their sorrows to handle.
The worst part is, no other students care.
22/
People don't care until you're dead. In this case, people dont even care after that. Fellow aspirants name the deceased ones as losers and get back to business, IIT or nothing.
No place for the pressure to vent out, one will explode eventually
People don't care until you're dead. In this case, people dont even care after that. Fellow aspirants name the deceased ones as losers and get back to business, IIT or nothing.
No place for the pressure to vent out, one will explode eventually
23/
But even amongst all of the hardship, students still think of their parents, which is a worse news.
A large chunk of this aspirant population is from underprivileged families, who are not well off financially.
Parents want welfare of their children, they gamble everything
But even amongst all of the hardship, students still think of their parents, which is a worse news.
A large chunk of this aspirant population is from underprivileged families, who are not well off financially.
Parents want welfare of their children, they gamble everything
