It is not at all necessary to take coaching if a candidate has time and zeal; coaching centres provide full support, mentorship, guidance and adequate resources, but the ultimate success depends on the students
The Civil Services Examination is the way to several noble professions in India. Every year, thousands of students appear for the UPSC Examination, but only a hundred succeed. Therefore, students start preparation quite early owing to the intense competition. Due to the toughness of the examination, leading premier institutes dedicated to quality training for millions of candidates appearing for the civil service examination guide students for prestigious government positions.
Notably, most toppers belong to India’s giant IAS coaching institutes. They credit their success and achievement to these institutes. However, a minor percentage of students claim that they have attained top ranks without the support of coaching centres. Making it to the UPSC without coaching has been a rarity.
Why should aspirants enrol in UPSC coaching institutes?
It is not at all necessary to take coaching if a candidate has time and zeal. It is important to note that coaching centres provide full support, mentorship, guidance and adequate resources, but the ultimate success depends on the students. Here are more details on why coaching is vital for Civil Service preparation.
Our education system: No college or university provides good introductory courses on multiple subjects that make up the General Studies part of the syllabus which is the majority of the syllabus at the Main level and the entirety of the syllabus at the qualifying level, that is, Preliminary. Our education system leaves so much to be desired even the brilliant students find themselves stranded. They are nowhere when they complete their graduation in terms of readiness for the civil services examination where precise, brief, relevant, up-to-date and well-articulated presentation is the essence of success. That is where the coaching centres come into play.
Leveller Coaching enables the levelling up of aspirants coming from different backgrounds. Even if students come from a good college or university and have experience, their core competencies may not suit the UPSC requirements across many areas (like the Constitution, Economics, Science and Technology, etc.). Coaching helps by providing an ambience for self-exploration, a vibrant culture for studies, productive debate, etc. With the guidance of good teachers, every aspirant’s talent gets unlocked and they bloom.
Complementary role
Even when the candidate is good, coaching centres have a complementary role: they provide systematic guidance, in depth treatment of topics; remove chaff from wheat. Be mindful of the fact that for every 1000 words that need to be understood, there is tonnes of information available in the public domain. UPSC being an entirely different body recruiting the best for the administrative purposes, needs a certain alchemy that our education system either does not know or deliberately suppresses. The student is left rudderless. This predicament, one finds in the students from the best of educational institutes, what to speak of the rest.
Detox The folklore that is built around the civil services examination is the psychological deadweight that candidates need to be detoxed from. That, only an experienced coaching centre committed to excellence can do. It enables the candidate to give their best. Scheduled learning in a step by step manner is another plus.
One has seen candidates struggling for the conceptual understanding of the foundations of the subject, be it science, economics or polity. Coaching centres relieve the candidates of such pressure as well.
Ambience Coaching lasting for about a year can provide the right ambience to the students & their peers and students & teachers.
Periodical and final tests also help in steering the prep in the right way.
The challenge for the candidate however is to select the centre that lives up to his expectations. As in every other field, there are well-meaning and helpful centres and there are spurious ones too. Learn the art of selecting the best to emerge as the best.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house
