It started with class 10. Now, ten years down the line, it starts at class V itself.  Soon we will start having crèches and nurseries for IIT aspirants. Poor kids. —-Says an IIT student who was once an IIT aspirant on the blog…

I have seen my brother and his friends settle down in good jobs, I said to myself I wan to be like that one day— Says Anoop, a student of Krishnamurthy’s IIT Academy.

I dint really know what IIT meant but I was in an awe of those IITans and secretly yearned to become like them, says Anirudh who started off with his IIT foundation in grade six itself.

IIT is my dream since I have seen the ‘class’ , ‘intelligence’ and ‘culture’ it imparts, says another student who is with one of the famous IIT foundation Institutes in the twin cities.

It is the media that hyped IIT to almost a celebrity status, otherwise it is just another Engineering Institute which like many other reputed universities in the country demands hard work and focus, says Mr.Venugopal, Incharge, Krishnamurthy Academy

What exactly is ‘charisma’ of IIT that pulls the cream of intelligentsia of the nation towards it?

What is it that draws students all over the country to come to the famous Ramiah Institute who is regarded as the IIT Guru of the country?
What are the career prospects for the IITans?

IIT preparation takes a heavy toll on the student who very often feels crumbling pressure of the academics, but what makes them continue?

The Career Guide meets a cross section of people in the city (and expert comments from reputed institutes of different parts of the State), including students, parents and teachers of the IIT Foundation Academies in the city to find out all about Indian Intelligentsia Team!

Interestingly enough following is a short and strong message the Founder of Krishnamurthy Academy  Mr.Krishnamurthy gives in their website, which is certainly an eye opener to parents and students

HOW TO CHOOSE A COACHING CENTRE?

This is the question which perhaps is in the mind of each and every IIT aspirant. The pageful   advertisements in News papers, tactful speeches of PROs in seminars and phone call invitations from the coaching centres, instead of providing an answer to the question, making it more complicated. There are two kinds of tragedies a student can have; not getting what he wants and getting what he doesn’t need. Both will spoil his career. Some times getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting it.

 Every parent should note that, instead of admitting his ward in ‘some’ coaching centre it may be better, some times, not to put them  any where.

Money can buy – Coaching but not a Seat in IITs.
                      
There are very few professionals who really coach students for IIT-JEE. How to identify them?-Its very easy. They do not advertise in public, but people talk about them.

They do not go in search of students, but students search them. They do not assure success but they achieve it.

To identify such people, no need to see paper ads, no need to waste time in attending seminars, just go to their door step, collect the opinion of the students taught by them and that’s all! Just follow it.

Remember! One who learns from others experiences, rather than waiting for his/her experience is called an INTELLIGENT one!

This speaks about the commitment and reputation of the institute that draws many students from all over India.

Every school student is aware of IIT and dreams to get in to it. With zealous parents and ambitious students as around who wouldn’t like to reap benefits? Many coaching centers claim to win IIT seats for the candidates and gullible parents often fall for the trap. Some centers start off IIT coaching at a tender age of 12. Shouldn’t we as adults use our discretion and give a second thought before we push our young ones into these coaching centers? Are we not being a little too over ambitious? Can a boy of 12 deploy his intelligence to weigh the pros and cons of getting into IIT?

Krishnamurthy Academy In charge Mr.Venugopal speaks to the TCG about the institute and the ‘need’ for one.…

TCG: Is it required to start the IIT coaching/ foundation at grade twelve? Does a student of that age have a proper understanding of IIT and the seriousness that goes into its preparation?

Mr.Venugopal: I don’t think it is necessary to start at such an early age with students because they may not be having a clear idea about what is IIT and why they need to go for it. Yes, if that is the way to groom a child to aim for a great goal, it is certainly good, but again it depends upon the parents, teachers and others who influence them. As for us, we start the foundation only after the tenth grade where we believe students are more focused, serious and determined.

TCG: How old is this academy and how are the results every year?
Mr.Venugopal: The actual IIT training in the country happens only at two places. One is at Kota in Rajasthan and the other is at Hyderabad. Our academy is almost twenty years old and as our Founder/Director says in his message, students’ success speaks about reputation

TCG: Can you tell us about the different courses offered here?
Mr.Venugopal: There is two year preparatory course; exclusively for IIT (JEE).This course is for the 10th passed students, who will single mindedly target IIT (JEE).There is Two year integrated preparatory course for   IIT (JEE) + AIEEE + BITSAT + INTERMEDIATE This course is also for the 10th passed students, who will be nurtured with utmost care and after two years of intensive studies they will be able to target IIT-JEE, AIEEE and BITSAT and score good percentage of marks in the intermediate examination.

The Academy also offers preparatory courses, selecting the students by conducting an aptitude test, separately for each course. Course allotment will be done on the basis of the student’s performance in the aptitude test.

TCG: What according to you are the prerequisites to enter IIT?

Mr.Venugopal: It is not just for IIT but any professional course like AIEEE, EAMCET & BITSAT also demand a tremendous focus, thinking skills, hard work and perseverance. With this formula success isn’t far off for an IIT or an EAMCET aspirant.

TCG: Is it only the urban students who take the laurels?

Mr.Venugopal: You will be surprised to know the cream of the aspirants come from the rural India. Especially previous year’s record shows one of the toppers coming from a Zilla Parishad school from the interior of AP. I have seen students with great focus and hard work for whom IIT is a penance, not just a career.

TCG: Not every student gets into IIT, what about them?
Mr.Venugopal: Sometimes students spend an extra year for the same, they do it with added spirit and extra hard work, and sometimes they take admission in to other good colleges.

TCG: It is said that ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, is it applicable to the students of this academy or any other coaching center?

Mr.Venugopal: I don’t really agree with that because students do not spend the whole day here or in the college, our timings are crisp and concentrated with academics. Students spend three hours a day with us, either in the morning or any time of the day (between 6.30 to 4.30) after which they go to their respective colleges to complete the regular syllabus. They are free in the evening where they utilize their time to pursue what they want. In fact most of our students do well in tabla, dance and other fine arts because they really enjoy pursuing their talent! We do not believe in turning the students in to dullards by pushing studies down their throat forcibly, rather they come to the center with zeal to achieve something, so it keeps them active and energetic contrary to the popular opinion that studies dull them.

TCG: Please tell us more about your faculty.

Mr.Venugopal: We have highly qualified and experienced faculty who train the students to take the course and exam with great care and precision. After every session it is a regular for the students to sit with the teachers to clarify their doubts. Not only this faculty motivates them continuously and helps them remain focused.

TCG: It must be a real challenge to sustain the determination and keep the students going with the same tempo of preparation?

Mr.Venugopal: True, students do get demoralized and de motivated very easily as their performance graph goes up and down. Results of weekly assessment tests are eagerly awaited. Some get disappointed easily. This is where we come in to the picture and encourage them to do well.

TCG: What is the study hour quota for an IIT aspirant? Do they need to work hard and double the study hours before the exam?

Mr.Venugopal: Six o seven hours of studying is sufficient for a student with above average intelligence. I have observed that is more of a fad and rather a hyped affair when parents and student go a feverish pace before the exams. Being calm and contained is more important than working doubly hard before the exam. We do have mock tests which give a clear idea to the students about IIT entrance exam.

TCG: What is the teaching methodology followed here?

Mr.Venugopal: As already discussed the method of teaching at Krishna Murthy IIT ACADEMY is concept based, simple and precise. This technique is proven in bringing out the highest level of comprehension among a vast majority of students and helps improve student’s analytical ability. Students are encouraged to ask questions, clarify their doubts and feel comfortable with the format of education and the faculty. Such collaborative ambience typically helps the students attack very difficult and tricky problems with confidence and blossom.

TCG: Do you face a tough competition from other coaching centers?
Mr.Venugopal: Not at all. We do not believe in competing with others. Every institute runs the courses for the benefit of students just like there are many professional colleges and universities that exist by themselves without feeling threatened by other institute. Our academy grew with the student’s success thus you can see we have a really strong base.

With number of academies mushrooming at every corner, some feel blessed with the availability of resources whilst some think it is jut another means to earn money. Whatever the reason might be Coaching centers are flourishing and that is a fact. We also have correspondence courses that deliver classes to their door step. Lets find out some such institute that offer IIT foundation course, correspondence…..

SRI SRI ACADEMY

Postal Coaching:
Correspondence course has been started in our institute in 2002-03, at the request of parents, for the benefit of the students not only from the state, but also from out side state/country. They claim to be getting tremendous response and enrollment is increasing by many folds every year. This speaks about the growing demand.

Details Of Course
Correspondence course will be offered to 8th, 9th, & 10th class students in English medium only. All the topics of Math, Physics and Chemistry of all syllabus  viz SSC, CBSE & ICSE will be covered, from the point of importance for IIT / AIEEE and laid down strong foundation for IIT in general and for entrance test of IIT Ramaiah in particular. Chapter wise printed material will be sent in 8 installments on every Ist of the month starting from July ever year. Assignments pertaining to respective chapters will also be sent along with material. Student has to complete the assignment and send answers to us by 25th of the respective month. The assignments will be corrected and returned to student with suggestions for improvement/ guidance etc along with solutions and next month material & assignment.

Doubt Clarification
Doubts raised by students will be clarified immediately. They are free to express their doubts at any time and get clarification in black and white.

Talent Tests
Our institute encourages students to attend for all prestigious Talent tests conducted by renowned national and regional organizations by furnishing necessary information about tests, model papers etc in addition to guidance.

We also have some interesting inputs from the Matrusri Academy, known for its audio visual teaching methodology….
The dynamic founder Aravind Kapatkar has a lot to share…..
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It would be apt to describe his chivalry as ‘COURAGE ON WHEELS’. If you have the will to succeed you can climb mountains. Many have proved this notion before. One such proud soul is Naga Naresh Karuturi.

This dynamic young lad has recently completed his graduation in Mechanical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and took up a job in a major MNC organization very recently.

For the 21-year-old Andhra boy, it’s an amazing feat. For, he’s not like another member of  ‘The Curry Brigade’  as the Indian techies are described in some parts of the Western world,  and he has come from a completely different background.

For, Naresh is unlike any other young boys of his age. He’s disabled and uses wheelchair to move around. And, he’s come from a very humble background as his father is a lorry driver in Vijayawada.

Tears rolled down, when asked about his success journey. Keeping his emotions in check, “I have always been lucky,’’ beamed this young prodigy.  There is a lot of meaning behind his simple statement as Naresh has literally braved all the odds that came his way.

For many youngsters of this age, who keep complaining about the inadequacies in life but doing simply nothing, Naresh’s life is a good inspiring stuff

But for Naresh, any ordinary mortal would have easily given up the fight. 

At a young age of seven, Naresh’s legs were amputated after he met with a freak accident. After the accident, his sister, Sirisha, took care of his requirements. She literally carried him around in school till Class III when Naresh got his wheelchair.

After that his sister began pushing his wheelchair to the school and his friends carried him wherever he wanted to go. It was only much later that Naresh resolved to move around without any assistance.

Born to illiterate parents and in a family where no one had completed higher studies, this IIT graduate first heard of the premier institution when he was in Class VII. The news was that a senior at school had joined the reputed Gowtham Junior College in Vijayawada that was popular for producing state ranks and also IIT entrants. This news literally inspired Naresh to dream big and do big as he was determined to prove himself.

Soon, the hard-working boy found his way into the same college.  “It was really very expensive residential school and it was almost Rs 50,000 per student per year. My father, being a lorry driver, could have never afforded that, but for the scholarships. I was lucky again there,” he said with all modesty.

From class VII to XII, Naresh’s fees at the residential college were met through scholarships. Later, Naresh was glad for having earned a seat at Gowtham Junior College. “The college segregated students into those who would be trained for the IITs, AIEEE, and other exams. I was lucky to have studied in such an atmosphere,” he adds.

Looking back at all those hours of hard work that went into cracking the IIT entrance, Naresh says he couldn’t have carried on without the help of his friends. “I was blessed in having helpful roommates like Sitarama Raju with whom I used to do study.”

Staying outside his home for the first time, Naresh learnt to walk (albeit on the wheelchair)  on his own. “At home, I was very dependent on my family members, particularly my sister.  My family members even moved to Vijayawada to stay close to me all the time,” he said.

But, Naresh’s hostel expenses were too much to bear for his father Prasad. The family had to make many sacrifices for the success of Naresh, which made him even more determined to succeed in life. And, Naresh’s father persisted with his efforts. “We always knew he could do it,” he proudly says now.  “We used to frequently visit him to make sure that he focuses more on his education,” said Naresh’s mother Kumari, a homemaker.

Naresh strongly feels that God has been very kind to him. “Just a year before I joined, IIT Madras turned wheelchair-friendly. Moreover, the institution donated this electric wheelchair when I was in the II year. This is the best thing to have happened to me. I am thankful to everyone in the institution including my faculty members, dean, friends and all the staff there,” he said.

Professor Pandurangan, under whose guidance Naresh works, says the latter never expects special care and is always pleasant. “He is the gem of our lab,” says the professor, who heads the theoretical science laboratory.

Naresh, has joined in Google R&D division in Bangalore recently. “I told you, I am always lucky,” this soft-speaking boy said, summing his tale of success.