Most of the students who were stranded in Kota due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus left in April.
Kota, a city in Rajasthan that is not only famous for its ancient architectural places and marvellous gardens but also for hundreds of centres offering coaching classes for admission to IITs and Medical colleges. Every year, lakhs of students from all over India go to Kota to prepare for the entrance examinations. Kota is a dream city for students who strive to get into one of the prestigious IITs, NITs, and other reputed colleges. However, this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, fear and uncertainty have taken over the city.
A city that provides students with some of the popular IIT coaching institutes like Bansal Classes, Allen Career, Nucleus Education, AskIITians, Resonance, and Aakash Institute among others are now drastically affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The city is dependent on students. This is true not just for coaching institutes but also for those who are in PG and hostel facilities business.
Even though the coaching institutes have switched to digital mode, the situation seems to be worsening. Teachers from several coaching institutes told indiatvnews.com that online mode cannot replace classroom learning.
"The impact of coronavirus pandemic is more on some sectors than others. Coaching institutes and schools are drastically affected due to this pandemic. Even though we have switched to online classes it's not the same. Students cannot sit for more than 8 hours looking at the screen and it's also not good for their health," said a professor from one of the premier institutes on condition of anonymity.
"We have to take one class at a time but these students have to sit for three classes back to back. These competitive exams are tough and students need in-person guidance but looking at the current scenario we can't do anything. Online mode of study will remain secondary at least for another couple of years. We will follow the orders of the government on what do to do in the coming months. Till then, we will do whatever we can to help students with their studies," he further added.
Local economy faces the heat
With students having left for their hometowns, the hostel owners and house owners have also been struggling. "On average, the landlord charges Rs.3,500-Rs.4,000 and if it's an AC room then Rs. 5000- Rs. 6000 per student. In every house, at least 4-5 students stay so the owner easily earn Rs.15,000-Rs.20,000 as rent every month. Now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, these hostel owners are losing this money in a large ratio. It's not just about hostel landlords but also grocery store owners or dhobi walas. Our dhobiwala used to earn over Rs.20,000 because of the students. Now he is surviving on staggering income," a Kota resident said.
"There are so many restaurants, cafes, street food vendors, and juice shops which used to be filled with students all the time. Now, they are all empty," he adds.
"Kota is almost under shut down. So many teachers left institutes and now they are on online platforms like Unacademy. Students are demanding their fees back. The coronavirus situation is getting worse and it's almost unsafe for students to go there. The average fees paid to the institutes per student is approximately 1 lakh. Now, these institutes are providing online classes that too in an unorganized way while better online classes are available on other online platforms at approximately Rs.30,000. Many of the hostel owners have not returned our security money yet," said a NEET aspirant.
On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced country-wide lockdown in light of the coronavirus situation. The lockdown and rising coronavirus cases drastically affected the lives of the students. However, some students told indiatvnews.com that coaching institutes like Allen came forward to ensure that food and other essential commodities are provided to the students from time to time. Many helpline numbers were also issued to counsel students during this period.
"Students from Uttar Pradesh were the first to leave Kota. The UP government arranged buses for them. Messes were running even during the lockdown to ensure we get food on time. I hope things get normal again so that get we can go back and our classes will be resumed normally," an IIT aspirant said.
"Kota seems so silent and empty now. Earlier, the city used to be like this only for 10 days during Diwali and nows its been months. I hope things get normal again. I miss my old Kota," said another resident.
