E-Paper
UPSC Coaching Centre Deaths: Horror in Old Rajender Nagar leaves students angry and confused, protests grow louder
From living in cramped rooms for exorbitant rents to burning the midnight oil in libraries, aspirants go through a tough phase in their preparation phase
The recent deaths of UPSC aspirants in Delhi's Old Rajender Nagar have sparked off debates, protests and probes into the irregularities of the coaching institutes in various cities across the country.
Students who move away from their families to come and enroll at the coaching institutes are filled with hopes of being able to achieve their goals and aspirations. But the regular scenes from the lanes of the coaching institutes offer a different scenario. From living in cramped rooms for exorbitant rents to burning the midnight oil in study rooms/libraries, aspirants go through a tough phase in their preparation phase for competitive exams like UPSC CSE, NEET, JEE and more.
The death of the aspirants due to drowning in the basement of the building housing Rau's Study Circle in Old Rajender Nagar, which was flooded following the recent rains in Delhi has questioned the mushrooming of coaching centres in various parts of the country and the potential risk students put themselves through due to the irregularities of such centres.
Glaring violations like cramped classrooms and study halls with no emergency exit, narrow staircases, mangled electricity wires hanging too close to the building, etc are reportedly being found by authorities at various coaching centres in Delhi.
Students have come out to the streets, protesting and demanding justice. Some social media users say in the fear of the current situation, students who enrolled in the most sought after coaching institutes are leaving Delhi. At the end of the day, one might ask if it is worth putting the lives of students at risk for success in clearing these competitive exams.
Also Read: Coaching centre deaths: Delhi HC likely to hear plea seeking high level probe panel
Netizens react
“Education pr exploitation?? Rau's ias incident exposes how institutes turn learning into business while ignoring basic safety,” tweeted Hiraeth, an X user.
“The death of aspirants in ORN tells grim story of criminal Failures . Compensation to Families of students & Accountability of Power Company should be ensured. Case for Criminal Negligence should be registered against culprits,” tweeted another X user.
Deepak Kumar, an X user highlighted the plight of a library in South Delhi, where students come and study for competitive exams for hours.
“No One is blaming the persons responsible. Call it out loud and Clear. District Administration, Coaching Centre, MCD and Government of NCT as well as Mayor are responsible for this,” tweeted Shubhangi Dubey, an X user.
Prashant, an X user says aspirants are leaving Delhi due to the current situation which has caused a scare among the student community.
