Isolated, cramming 24x7 and away from home — the fate of those who decide to travel to other cities, for better coaching centres or otherwise, to study for competitive exams has been abysmal. COVID, of course, changed all that and students came back home in droves. But who's to say that in a post-COVID era, we won't fall back into old habits? B Jacinth Jones is able to convey to us their anguish because he has been through it when he was in Delhi for one-and-a-half years, preparing for the civil services exams. In fact, he gave six years to the preparation but for some reason or the other, he wasn't able to clear them. But the 31-year-old has put those days behind him, now he has a new mission. To ensure that no one else goes through what he did. It was in July that he launched E-Taragathi, an EdTech platform that offers coaching for Group I and Group II of APPSC (Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission) exams, Group I and II of TSPSC (Telangana State Public Service Commission) and UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), in both Telugu and English.
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We immediately start talking about the USP of the platform with the CEO and Founder of E-Taragathi. We are told that not only are the courses affordable — the APPSC Group II two-month-long course is just Rs 4,770 — they also offer scholarships. "We have a separate exam for candidates who are from low-income households who would like to take up the course. All they have to do is clear it and get a certificate from their Mandal Parishad Officer about their economic status," says the youngster who hails from Gooty, a town in Andhra Pradesh. He says that so far, ten students have attempted the exam and seven are yet to produce the certificate.
Apart from offering pre-recorded and live classes, E-Taragathi also runs a podcast of their own, through which all the current affairs topics of the day are summed up. "This is because it's not easy for everyone to read and anaylse news articles. This podcast, which is uploaded on YouTube before 11 am every day, helps with this task," says the entrepreneur who pursued Computer Science from Bharat Institute of Engineering & Technology. What we also like about them is that when it comes to instructors, their names are not only listed but their profiles are on their website for everyone to see.
Apart from this, the e-learning portal ensures that no class has over 30 students, the curriculum is developed with the instructors and the team, and they ensure that all doubts are cleared within 24 hours of being asked. So, will you be opting for E-Taragathi?
Other features are:
- One-on-one interactions with instructors for all students
- Apart from the end-of-the-course quiz, there are many MCQs for aspirants
- If you need to brush up on just one subject, you can choose the instructor
- 30 per cent of the classes are live
For more on them, check out e-taragathi.com
