Mumbai's ICSE topper shows the way

City student Shalaka Kulkarni’s story — she topped the Std X ICSE examinations without the aid of that ubiquitous presence in every student’s life, the coaching class — has lessons for everyone — students, parents, and teachers.

In recent times, these centres, which promise to make geniuses of any and all who join them, have turned into an industry. Parents send their wards there as though they would be magically transformed overnight into centum-scorers, and teachers, who were once seen to be in a noble profession, kick their regular jobs in favour of the lucre these classes offer.

But the plain and simple truth is that a majority of these coaching classes do not offer anything drastically different from what you would get in schools, nor do they adopt any pathbreaking scientific approach. They just load the students with more of the same.

True, for a student who lags behind or finds it difficult to grasp concepts, some extra attention and tutoring on the side can help a lot, but depending solely on out-of-school coaching is akin to putting all one’s eggs in the wrong basket.

Kulkarni’s success story — she admits that she set aside just three hours a day for studies — is a timely reminder that if a student applies herself to the task at hand and manages her study time effectively, not only can she come out with flying colours, she can also engage in extra-curricular activities and, indeed, excel in them too.

Parents would do well to remember that they, too, have a responsibility towards their children’s studies, and have a duty to be supportive of their wards, instead of outsourcing these roles to the coaching classes.