Sri Chaitanya has become one of the leading destinations for students aspiring to build a career in the medical or engineering field. It is one of the top coaching providers in the country for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) aspirants.
This year, students who scored All India Rank (AIR) 1 in both NEET and JEE Advanced, namely, Bora Varun Chakrathi and Vavila Chidvilas Reddy, were products of Sri Chaitanya Coaching Institutions.
However, while the institution has caught headlines for its excellent results in competitive examinations, it has had its share of controversies as well. In March 2023, the Telangana state government cancelled affiliation of Sri Chaitanya Junior College, Narsingi campus, after a student died by suicide. There have been other student suicides also reported from their campuses.
We reached out to Sushma Boppanna, Academic Director of Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions, Founder-Director of Infinity Learn by Sri Chaitanya, to discuss the good and the not-so-good, ranging from recent NEET UG results to mental health measures on the campus. Excerpts from our conversation:
Tell us about this year's NEET UG cut-off. Did it pan out as per expectations? What can the students expect from counselling?
The cut-off was much higher than our expectations because the difficulty level of the paper was okay this year, not too easy. That's why the competition is quite high and there is a cluster of students scoring every single mark.
The qualifying marks this year was 137 and below 1,000, the cutoff has been increased by about 10 marks. I feel that this is because there were certain changes in the question paper due to which many students have scored five to ten extra marks.
For anyone who is from Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, Sri Chaitanya is a brand name to reckon with and has remained so throughout the years. Tell us what goes into maintaining this name.
Since we have schools as well, there are two types of students that we get. One, like the NEET AIR 1, has been there with us since Class VI or VII while other students join only after Class XI.
In the first case, there is an added value to the students as they have been with us for years to help understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, academically and psychologically. This foundation helps significantly.
When it comes to strategies, we try to prepare the students for every scenario, whether it is an easy paper, moderate or difficult paper. Most importantly, we do not differentiate between NEET and JEE students for Physics and Chemistry papers as this learning stays for them even after the paper is done, problem-solving is universal.
The way we design the curriculum is extremely important to us, what kind of assignments to give, how many hours to allot for each subject. Our testing strategy and methodology are also quite unique.
NEET and JEE preparation requires vigorous training and testing. It can take a toll on students' mental health. How do you ensure that they get sufficient breathing space?
Since the extent of the syllabus and learning required for these exams is huge, students will have to dedicate a lot of their time to the preparation. At our institutes, we try to give the students enough time for revision in the end, at least four to five months.
But on the other hand, we try to make sure that the classes are more interactive and not one-sided. This way the students get more energy from it. We try to give breaks between classes and in the evening, we try to arrange sports or other recreational activities for the students.
We make sure that every week, the students get a day off so they can relax and be ready for the next week and also there are regular holidays in between.
But the important thing is that the students have a huge capacity to learn. So, the kind of teachers we provide can make a lot of difference as they make the lectures more fun and recreational for the students.
Tell us about what makes your curriculum and programmes around competitive exams unique.
Sri Chaitanya has been a brand for NEET coaching since even before NEET came in. Earlier, we were only located in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and in these states, we were always leaders for the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) coaching with 70 per cent success rate.
We come with legacy and research in the medical field. Our teachers and administrators have been with us for over 20 years so they are equipped to deal with the students. They know exactly which potions to cover and which parts to drop so the students can make the best use of their limited preparation time.
Moreover, after every batch leaves, we take feedback from them. For example, what could we have done better in terms of curriculum, and implementation of teaching and we try to implement the suggestions with our next batch.
There has been a huge jump in the cut-off this year. This trend might increase in the coming years also. What can the students expect from NEET-UG in future in terms of cut-off prediction and difficulty level?
The cut-off is very high this year. For a score of 620, the students are getting somewhere around 29,000 rank which is actually ridiculous.
This is what happens when it becomes an accuracy-based exam rather than a knowledge-based exam.
If you look at NEET, four years ago the cut-off was very low. The first ranker scored under 700. Now students are scoring 720/720 and if you look at students scoring above 715 as well, there are nineteen students.
I wish they would modify the question paper in a way that it becomes a knowledge-based exam so that only the students who actually have talent will succeed.
What is your opinion on the coaching culture and its alleged growth?
I think coaching is essential for any competitive exam and everyone has a right to choose it. Any school, be it CBSE or any other board, will not be equipped with all the exam material to prepare the students for the exams. Their focus is different and I think very few are catering to these requirements.
So, the students who have not taken coaching might have a disadvantage over the others as it is relative marking and their ranks might be affected. Having said that, I don't think coaching culture is anything new and has always been there. It might have reduced for a few years due to COVID-19 but hasn't changed much except that.
Do you think that few students might have privilege over other students who are not able to afford coaching institutes due to financial or any other reasons?
I think that happens all over the world. Anyone who is in the right place at the right time will get an advantage.
However, one change that I have noticed over the years is that now, there are so many resources available online. So someone who is passionate and hardworking enough can access these resources free of cost or for a minimal fee.
Of course, the level of motivation and engagement will not be the same as classroom learning but at least the option is there today if the student is actually interested. There is definitely more scope.
Since the number of suicide cases being reported in coaching institutions, including Sri Chaitanya, have been increasing over the years, what are you as a group of institutions doing to ease the burden of students?
It is really sad to see young children taking this step which means that they have not been counselled about so many alternatives that are there. Life doesn't have to go a certain way, there are so many options.
Most of the time, the pressure starts from their home itself; either it is pressure from their parents or something the students have internalised themselves. I think being open to children is very important, about failures, alternatives and so on to ease the burden off their minds. Families need to talk about what other options are available if this does not work out.
We try to give our students a roadmap and inform students that if they miss out on JEE Main or Advance, there are several other options. In this way, they are not discouraged and find comfort in their minds, knowing that there are options they can fall back to.
Parents and institutions need to work together to provide this comfort to the students. Because the institutions cannot take 100 per cent of the responsibility, the family and parents always come first. Students are more emotionally affected by their families.
So we need to achieve a balance with the parents. We try to organise counselling sessions for the students as well.
