For all those readers out there who have
already developed opinions about the Kota teacher poaching issue, here is
another angle to the story that will probably help you get some perspective.
Through this article, Pankaj Birla (Vice President, Allen Career Institute) describes
his content with the progress of the Coaching Industry in Kota. In his words….

Kota
has today become the hub of IIT Coaching centers in Rajasthan. Students from
different parts of the country relocate here to provide best coaching to their
wards. I was amazed to hear about this controversy of teacher poaching being
rampant in the city. In my opinion, there is no such poaching or buy-off
happening in Kota. The industry is highly organised and is advancing at a
remarkable rate. Not a single professor has left our classes in the past 3
years. But yes, since our student base keeps expanding with every academic
year, we do find the need to frequently hire new professors.

Speaking
about teacher’s loyalties, as I said earlier, since the industry is going and
the economy is in favour, there is an ever increasing demand for IIT
professors. It is only human nature for one to shift jobs in pursuit of a
better salary. However, you cannot attribute such shifting only to the money
aspect. There are several other factors that attract professors to some top
classes; such as better teaching facilities, larger student base, better use of
technology, etc.

Besides,
it’s a known fact that Iitians make better professors. They have an edge over
those from other colleges because the questions asked in IIT exams are not
straight forward but are tricky and tough. It compels students and professors
to focus not just on learning the concepts but also at innovative application. Teachers
here have a better aptitude and students try to emulate the same and no doubt
when teachers leave class, students follow suit. This is not some dirty
conspiracy but the affectionate teacher-student bond that every coaching class
tries to cultivate.

Now
I agree that a lot of people consider the IIT Industry to be gender biased; and
looking at the scenario, I am not surprised. But you cannot make
generalizations based on a few observations. For instance, in our classes there
are 35 teachers, 12 of which are females. Even the boy-girl ratio in our
classes is not very off. Of course you can’t do much if the choice of
engineering is more widespread among boys than to girls.

PaGaLGuy Take – We are of the opinion that
teacher poaching has become such a common phenomenon in the education sector
today, that most people turn a blind eye towards it. The craze for marks, ranks
and shortcuts to success is now a bandwagon effect. Education is no longer
something that sets one apart from the other but in fact teaches them to follow
the herd. The commercialization of education has created an invisible bubble
which will soon burst leaving most students victims of a failed system; and
when that happens, no amount of frantic pacing or screaming bloody murder will
help. In fact the architects of this industry will themselves be the first ones
to flee the scene. It is high time the current generation realizes the
devastating and long-lasting impact this will leave on both their future and
the society.

 —
Manaal Bhombal

You can read the Part 1, Part 3 and Part 4 of this series