IIT topper’s father sets the record straight

Topping exams can come with its own set of perils. And who better to vouch for it than Nitin Jain, the all India topper of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for IITs.

A day after the JEE results were declared on Monday, two top coaching institutes — FIITJEE and Aakash Institute — came out with full-page advertisements in national dailies vying for the title of having coached 17-year-old Nitin.

But Nitin’s father NC Jain dismissed Aakash Institute’s claim, saying: “Nitin was never enrolled with Aakash. A representative of the institute had come to our house last year and gave books for free to Nitin, which were never used. Nitin was enrolled with the FIITJEE’s 2-year classroom coaching programme.”

But JC Chowdhury, MD, Aakash Institute said: “We have the documents to prove that Nitin was enrolled with us in our distance-learning programme. We have even printed the enrollment form with Nitin’s signature in our advertisements. They are making these claims under pressure from our competitors. Probably, they have been paid to do so.”
 But Nitin’s family has a different story to tell about the enrollment form.

“Last year, when this person from Aakash gave the books for free he asked Nitin to fill up an acceptance form. The so-called enrollment form that is now being flashed in the ads is the same form,” Nitin’s father said.

Nitin, who will represent the country in the International Physics Olympiad in Mexico in July, said the institute had also featured Gopi Sivakanth, who stood third in the JEE, in their ads. “But when I spoke to him he denied having enrolled with Aakash,” Nitin said.
Chowdhury said the allegations made by the Jains were “malicious propaganda”. He said if the Jains did not issue a denial he would take legal recourse.