The Andhr'IIT'an Paradox

2963 students qualified the IIT JEE Examination in 2011. The same stat stood at a 1693 in 2007.

Succinctly put, their growth has been as consistent as India’s GDP. In the past 15 years, the presence of Andhra students in the coveted list of toppers in National examinations for professional degrees has been unmatched and unprecedented.

For lots of people, this ‘social epidemic’ is a conundrum of sorts. Some wonder, some complain. Some fret and some envy. Such successes often evoke a mélange of emotions across communities. We contemplate on how a single state manages to produce so many entrants into the country’s most prestigious institutes. A large scale success always will have had a humble beginning somewhere.

Malcolm Gladwell, a captivating writer and a master statistician, in his famous book ‘ The Outliers’ , notes – “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts”, This one is no exception.

It all started in the year 1983, when a freedom fighter and an erudite scholar, Chukka Ramaiah migrated toHyderabad on retirement as a principal from Andhra degree college in Nagarjuna sagar. Known to be a seasoned exponent of Mathematics, 6 students who were preparing for the IIT Examination approached him for help in Mathematics. It so happened that none of them qualified. Ramaiah, in general known for his grit and determination brought together a Physics and a Chemistry teacher, coached ten students the following year. Six qualified.

Knowing that the IIT’s open doors for a world of opportunities and a bright future, he envisioned a dream of seeing more Andhra students in these prestigious institutions. (the monopoly was with Rajasthan then). He surmised that these students would help realize the term ‘Swarnandrapradhesh’ – a fancy sobriquet coined at that time. He imbued into his students strict discipline, rigor and focus. The success rate kept soaring. Most Ramaiah alumni went on to epitomize excellence everywhere they chose to go. Ramaiah coaching centre was having a dream run. His vision was turning into a proud reality.

Let’s Fast forward to 2012: Ramaiah now has a truly ‘Exorbitant’ realization of his dream. Thousands make it to the IIT and a lot of other prestigious institutes. Andhra Pradesh is applauded for its educational rigor and consistency by leading academicians and also politicians, who couldn’t care less. Looks like all is well?

Maybe not.

This ‘IIT journey’ of large number of teens is housed on a gamut of parental dreams - Pride among relatives, a high paying job in the US, Larger dowry offers for IIT Males and attractive discounts for females! (in this very order of priority ;). Strictly speaking, the ambition of getting into IIT is not an inferior one at all. It takes sacrifice, deep perseverance and the mental strength to withstand the enormous pressure and competition. Admirable indeed are the efforts of the winners who emerge.

However, on the flip side of the 3000 students who make it into the IIT’s are 2 lac students who are made to believe that only IIT means success and education means engineering. Running the rat race are a lot of pitiful teenagers who only know life to be a journey between their homes and coaching centers. No one seems to take time to reflect upon what their passions are and what is a worthwhile career option that streamlines with their unique talents. Most succumb to the IIT mania.

Prof. MS Anand, Director IIT-M, remarked: “The coaching institutes in Andhra are doing a great job”. Taken literally, it is as true as it can get. The ‘Coaching’ institutes in Andhra today coach for NTSE, JEE, AIEEE, Eamcet, VIT, AFMC, AIIMS, MAHE, JIPMER, AIPMT, AMRITA, GATE, IISc, NDA, CSIR, IELTS, CAT, GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, APPSC. Phew!.

Mind you, the list is yet not an exhaustive one. There are lots of other exams which these centers know of, which have not a standard abbreviation. The ‘Enterprises’ are still exploring new markets apparently.

Malcolm Gladwell defines something known as the ‘tipping point’. A tipping point is the moment of critical mass, or threshold beyond which Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do. Therefore the tipping point for exam coaching centers can be dated back to somewhere in the nineties. The success of a couple of centers had a large cascading effect resulting in the multitude of such centre that sustain now. If a subject of any kind has an entrance exam associated with it, be sure you will have a ‘coach’ there.

It is worth taking a closer look at the way these coaching centers operate.

Here’s a picture that first appears on one of the premiere center’s website:

They seem to strongly believe in a business aphorism that most companies follow, “Numbers never lie”!! . They have branches all over the country; and have now executed the concept of a ‘Concept school’. The ‘concept’ being that the school will groom the child at a tender age to have a ‘IIT (coaching) friendly’ Brain later. (Talk about tapping new markets!). Be it marketing, sales or business expansion, they know it all. But sadly enough, what they take away from a child is the joy of learning, completely smothering the very instinct of chasing ones own dreams in the guise of getting into one particular engineering college. The one word that describes a student’s life therefore is ‘struggle’. Struggle to stand first, to stand by their own dreams, to escape the ‘exam mania’- the ever hanging sword on their head. A sad trade off indeed.

The CMD of Narayana institutions, during the inauguration of his Delhi centre, made a very visionary assertion. “We foresee this centre to be a centre of Excellence for UPSC Coaching”. Goodness me! Who ever said that the concept of a COE was restricted to MNC’s. He just started the international Olympiad coaching division last year. They even had a few rankers in the very first Olympiad his students wrote. Boy! Domain expertise is a virtue. Coaching is Coaching. The exam is just an abbreviation. Don’t be surprised if they globalise and establish coaching centers in other countries. The whole world thinks global. Narayana is no less.

Talking psychology, such people belong to a class knows as ‘Mavens’. A Maven is someone who wants to solve other people's problems, generally by solving his own. They are ‘information specialists’. They know the market place very well and have a first hand information of the ‘pulse of the customer’. (especially when the pulse is so ‘IIT’an its not too difficult a job is it??). when a large number of such people it satisfies the laws of social epidemics to create such large sustained patterns.

Ramaiah however still remains the same humble man taking only 120 students every year with an unavoidable entrance test due to the huge demand. Other coaching centers were not foolish enough not to notice. They now coach for the Ramaiah entrance with a fixed schedule and a time table!

What has to come is a comforting whiff of a solacing change for people to think beyond an exam, to think about life as a quest for meaning, and not for marks. The Andhr’IIT’an paradox is here to stay. The AndrhIIT’an plethora however, at least for now, knows no recession!