DNA Special: How coaching centres may have played a role in violence over Agnipath scheme

Some coaching centres have now become power centres in the country. In the case of violence that took place in Patna, Bihar on June 18, the police registered an FIR against four coaching centres. Today, when a Zee News team reached these coaching centres, they were found locked. 

FIR has been registered against them and it is written in it that their operators instigated maximum number of students to join the protests and told them that the more public property they damage today, the more they will force the government to withdraw this scheme. 

Bihar is not the only state where questions are being raised about the role of coaching centres behind these protests. FIR has been registered against 9 coaching centres in Aligarh. The operator of a coaching centre has been arrested for the violence in Sikar, Rajasthan. Apart from this, the role of many coaching centres in the violence that broke out in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh is also in doubt and the police have started their investigation.

Coaching centres are also being said to be behind the violence that took place on June 17 in Secunderabad, Telangana. A person named Subbarao has been detained in this case, who runs a coaching centre by the name of Subbarao Sai Defence Academy. That is, the coaching mafia is behind this violence, who are instigating the youth for fear of closing their shops and telling them that the government is taking away their right to serve in the army.

At present, there are more than one lakh 70 thousand such small and big coaching centres in India, which prepare youth for recruitment in the army. After passing the physical and medical test, the youth have to give a written exam for recruitment in the army. Apart from this, there are various examinations for different posts in the Air Force and Navy and these coaching institutes prepare for these examinations. This business is very profitable. 

If the students do not join the army and fail even after taking coaching, then the students themselves are responsible for this and these coaching institutes do not even return their fees to the students. Whenever there is any change in government recruitments or army recruitments, they turn into power centres and organise big movements.

You will remember that in January this year, when the rules regarding railway recruitment were changed, these coaching centres were accused of inciting violence in Bihar. Even now the same thing is happening.

We went to Ground Zero and investigated these coaching centres and during this we came to know that on an average every 6 kms in Bihar there is one such coaching centre, where government job preparation is done. Every student is charged at least 200 to 300 rupees for each class. Apart from this, training centres have also been opened in Bihar to recruit youth into the army, where they are prepared for physical tests.