Then Kota happened to him. In true Bollywood style, luck by chance.
“I was working in a post office when I heard about Kota-based Motion Education’s scholarship lottery,” he recounts to TOI.“I filled out the online form and got selected. My grounded dream was back in motion.”
Aman, who worked as a newspaper vendor and in shops since his school days to supplement his mother’s income as a worker in a hospital ward, is now on his way to becoming a doctor.
In 2023, he cracked NEET on his eighth attempt and got a seat at GMC Medical College in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram. “It’s the best thing to have happened to me. I know the respect a doctor gets,” he says.
Aman isn’t the only one to have his outlook towards failure, success, risk and process questioned and transformed in the often scoffed-at coaching hub of Kota in Rajasthan.
Most students who get past JEE Mains, JEE Advanced or NEET – arguably the toughest cycle of entrance exams in the world for sheer scale and competition – credit their success to the innovative, structured and personalised teaching methods employed by coaching institutes in Kota.
Ved Sunil Kumar Shinde from Nagpur in Maharashtra, the all-India topper in NEET UG 2024 with 720/720, says studying at Allen Career Institute in Kota shaped his thought process in a manner that competitive exams didn’t appear as intimidating as he had imagined them to be.
“We were motivated to compete in a healthy manner. Preparing for NEET at Allen proved the turning point for me, also helping me in the board exams. I did well in both,” says Ved.
These institutes, some of which have spread their reach across India by setting up learning centres in cities and towns, operate on a model designed to train engineering and medical science aspirants to maximise their chances of making the cut rather than making them feel something is unachievable.
For underprivileged students like Aman, many of these institutes provide financial support to get through the journey. The rest are encouraged to aim for in-house scholarships of up to 90% of the annual fee in some cases.
Allen Institute runs a programme that offers free coaching to underprivileged students from government schools in predominantly Hindi-speaking states. These students are selected through a school-level examination. Those who qualify are brought to Kota, where the institute entirely covers their education, accommodation, and living expenses. This year, 126 students were selected.
In 2023, about 2.5 lakh students received coaching in Kota, with over 85,000 new admissions by May. The city has 4,200-odd hostels, 25,000 PG rooms, and scores of one-bedroom apartments, some of which are rented by parents and guardians.
Allen’s director, Rajesh Maheshwari, underscores the institute’s commitment to aiding students in need both academically and financially.
“We try to make sure every student who wants help with studies specifically for these entrance exams gets proper mentorship. Children whose parents died in the line of duty are given education free of cost, no questions asked,” says Maheshwari.
Aspirants who can’t attend classroom teaching for various reasons, including medical, have the option of recorded lectures.
Maulik Patel, a student at Allen Institute, was diagnosed with cancer in June 2022, but recorded lectures ensured his studies and exam preparation didn’t suffer as much during the duration of his treatment and recovery.
“After my first surgery, I was unable to attend coaching classes for a long time. Recorded lectures from Allen kept me in the preparation loop. My health improved after a second surgery last year, and I was able to take all major practice tests and rebuild my confidence,” he recalls.
Maulik scored 94.67% in the Maharashtra state board’s Class 12 exam and 715/720 in NEET UG.
In addition to recorded lectures, students at Kota institutes have access to equipped self-study rooms, immediate doubt-clearing sessions, online notes, and even professional counselling.
AI is the latest entrant into this unique teaching system, spawning models like a “homework machine”.
“At Motion, we have been using this AI-based homework machine built to give personalised questions for practice, based on the weaknesses and strengths of the student,” says Nitin Vijay, founder and CEO of Motion Education.
“When students practice or take tests through this app, we identify the concepts they are unable to grasp. They are more likely to skip a question based on a concept they haven’t understood. If they guess, chances are they will get it wrong.”
Institutes also focus on practicals to ensure comprehensive exam preparation. Resonance Eduventures Ltd, like the other large institutes, has fully-loaded labs for physics, chemistry and biology to improve students’ conceptual clarity.
Additionally, digital classrooms and extempore competitions help build students’ confidence, complementing their academic training.