Dr.
Manish Tulsiani is the founder-director of ACDA Classes, based in
Lucknow. We spoke to him about the trends in engineering coaching
visible in UP nowadays.
How did you enter the coaching industry?
I
started teaching others during my own PMT (Pre-Medical Test) preparation
period, when I started with teaching 5 students for PMT. I started my
medical studies, but stayed in touch with the institute that I had
started. I continued to teach them as well. After completing my MBBS, I
was stuck between the choices of continuing to teach, or to start my own
medical practice. I chose to teach.
Why ACDA?
ACDA
stands for the Ability to Conquer your Desired Ambitions. We help our
students define their goals, and throughout the year, help them bridge
the gap between where they are and where their goals are.
Technology has become ubiquitous these days. What importance does it hold for teaching?
Technology
cannot be a replacement for the classroom. It can assist, but it cannot
substitute a live teacher. There is no interaction between the student
and the ‘teacher’, and there is no motivation for the student to learn,
they get easily distracted. They do not learn. Video lectures are
boring, and if a student misses something, they cannot ask a question to
go back to the point they were stuck at. In such a case, the classroom
and its teacher is the best environment for a student to learn with
motivation – in India, at least. Technology is fine if it is assisting –
you have revision lectures over video or audio, where the student has
already learnt a concept, and is now revisiting it to ensure they
remember it. Here, using technology is fine.
Your take on Engineering Education outside of the IITs?
Education
– not just engineering, but all streams – has become a business.
Colleges, coaching institutes, you name it. Nobody is in it for the
education. Everyone is here to mint money. That is why you see
businessmen and entrepreneurs opening colleges, to park their undeclared
incomes, and to earn more out of it. You do not see any educationist
opening an institute these days, do you?
What are the reasons for the success of students across UP in joining IITs?
Not just
UP, I would say Bihar as well. Students here have a natural interest in
studying. These are states where there is high population density, and
education of their children is a high priority for parents. Hence, they
have no option other than to study hard. Unlike other areas of the
country where business and entrepreneurial ideas are given precedence,
here your upbringing defines the kind of jobs you must aspire to. The
selection of a child in an IIT means upliftment for the family. Hence,
you will see students study hard to enter IITs, then study hard during
the courses as well, and succeed in life.