‘Money is poured into…’: In Kota, VP Dhankhar warns coaching centres have become black holes 

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday criticised India’s booming coaching industry, calling it a “menace” that has derailed the country’s education priorities and distorted youth potential.

Speaking at the 4th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Kota, Dhankhar said: “Coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres. They have become black holes for talent in regimented silos. Coaching centres are mushrooming. This is menacing for our youth who are our future. We must address this malice that is worrisomely concerning. We cannot allow our education to be so smeared and tarnished.”

He also slammed the commercialisation of education, particularly the way coaching institutions invest heavily in publicity. “Money is poured into billboards and advertisements in newspapers. This money comes from those who either take loan or who painstakingly paid to make their future bright. This is not optimal utilisation of money, and these advertisements are alluring but they are eyesores for our civilisational ethos.”

Calling for urgent reform, Dhankhar urged society and lawmakers to act. “Converge to restore sanity in education. We need coaching for skill! Coaching centres must use their infrastructure to transform into skill centres. I urge civil society and public representatives before me and outside to appreciate the urgency of this.”

The Vice President also warned against the long-term psychological impact of the coaching culture. He said the obsession with perfect grades and standardised scores have compromised curiosity, which he added is an inalienable facet of human intelligence. “The seats are limited but coaching centers are all over the country. They prepare the minds of students for years together and robotize them. Their thinking has absolutely stymied. Lot of psychological problems can arise out of it.”

Addressing graduating students, Dhankhar said, “Dear students, your marksheet & grades will never define you. It is your knowledge and thinking mind that will define you! Cramming culture is creating intellectual zombies rather than creative thinkers. It has transformed vibrant minds into mechanical repositories of temporary information.”

He also underlined a broader message on national identity and future readiness, urging students to embrace technology as a patriotic mission. “We are getting into a new era, an era of new Nationalism. Technological leadership is the new frontier of patriotism. We have to be world leaders in Technological leadership.”

“The battleground of the 21st century is no longer land or sea. Gone are the days of conventional warfare. Our prowess, our power has to be determined by code, cloud and cyber. Sovereignty will not be lost through invasions, but through dependence on foreign digital infrastructure,” he added. “Nations will no longer be compromised or colonized by armies as armies have now been replaced by algorithms. If we get technology driven equipment from outside, especially in sectors such as defence, that country has the power to bring us to a standstill.”

In closing, Dhankhar said India must take charge of its digital future: “We must rise as architects of our own digital destiny and also influence the destiny of other nations. Our coders, data scientists, blockchain innovators, and AI engineers are the modern-day nation builders. India, once a global leader, cannot afford to be at rest just being a passive user nation of borrowed technologies.”