A tragic incident occurred this Saturday, July 27th 2024, when the basement of a coaching center in Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar area flooded, which lead to the deaths of three students. Our heart goes out to the families of the three students who tragically lost their lives in the Delhi coaching center incident:
- Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh
- Tanya Soni from Telangana
- Nevin Dalvin from Kerala
They were all aspiring civil servants studying at Rau’s IAS Study Circle.
- The three students lost their lives reportedly due to electrocution after the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, the popular coaching institute, was flooded.
- The flooding was caused by a nearby drain bursting after heavy rainfall.
- The incident sparked outrage and protests among the students and locals.
- The Delhi government and MCD have taken action, including sealing of several coaching centers operating illegally in basements.
- Arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
- Investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the flooding and identifying those who are responsible.
- There are calls for stricter regulations on coaching centers and better infrastructure management to prevent such tragedies.
A massive protest by students is now taking place in Delhi. Questions being raised are :
Why was the property of this coaching centre allowed to run in the first place? Why and how did the Municipality (MCD of the Delhi Government) give permissions and NOCs to run the centre?
Why did authorities not take action on the complaint filed by one of the students just a month back about the coaching institute violating safety standards?
These three students would have been alive today, had there been some action. While no one is accountable for this tragic incident the political blame game over the dead continues.
The apathy over coaching centres do not stop here.
While the Delhi tragedy has brought the issue to the forefront, the underlying problems with coaching centers are more pervasive and systemic with most coaching centers across the nation violating basic regulations.
Regulatory loopholes: regulations governing coaching centers, especially regarding safety standards, infrastructure, and overcrowding are flouted almost everywhere.
Commercialization of education: the coaching industry being overly commercialized, prioritizing profits over student welfare, most of the time students and parents have no options but to accept the pathetic conditions and continue in the horrible circumstances.
The coaching industry wields immense influence over the lives of millions of students in India, particularly those aspiring for higher education and competitive exams. When do we see the establishment of a regulatory body for these mushrooming coaching centres?
May we urge the Ministry of Education to take this into cognizance and introduce regulatory bodies like we have UGC or AICTE for colleges, for the coaching centres in India as well, where the fate of millions of students are decided.
