If you teach the toughest thing, the toughest subject with ease, the students connect very well. I was personally scared of Physics when I was preparing for IIT. I scored zero on my first test while preparing for the IIT, and the teacher had to hide my paper. It was then that I realized that Physics might be a tough subject for other students as well, and this is the subject I am going to teach students to make things easier for them,” said Nitin Vijay, CEO and Founder of Motion Education Pvt. Ltd., at ABP Network’s Ideas Of India Summit 2023.
Also known as ‘NV Sir’ among students, he talked about focus and conviction towards our goals, the Indian Education System, and how to be succesful in life during the session, in conversation with Chetan Bhagat.
“My father was told that I won’t be able to do it, since everyone felt that I was an average student. However, that’s where the actual challenge for a teacher lies. Teachers should be able to bring out the best from even the very average child, who has a zeal to do something in life. If a teacher is able to do that, then only he can call himself or herself an educator. Anyone can teach bright students with motivated minds, and that’s an easy task for any teacher.”
Speaking on teaching approaches, he said that: “It’s very essential for teachers to have that discipline to instill into students and I learned that when I joined Bansal Classes as a teacher. Having knowledge is different and being able to spread that knowledge in an easy way that the listener or students grasp them with ease is different. It all depends on your deliverability and that has to be different.”
“When I was selected for the first year in IIT, my mom told me that you should think and know in the first year itself that where are you heading and what you want to become, and in the next three years, you should work on that idea. I knew from the very first year that I have to teach students,” he added.
When asked about his popularity among students, he responded: “I was fired from a coaching institute for being too popular. Students always used to flock into my classes in large numbers, and the coaching’s administration was getting a bit uncomfortable with my popularity. When I was fired, around 2000 students gathered outside my house saying that Sir, we want to learn from you. Filled with joy and emotion, me and my students started looking for a coaching place that can accommodate us all, and the name ‘Motion’ was ideated by the students itself.”
How did you make a place fornyourself in kota among strong competition?
In response, ‘NV Sir’ said: “You need to create your own space, you should be different. The customer experience you’re providing should be unique. What I can teach, the experience I provide students with my teaching is different. I have that confidence in me, and this is what helped me grow over the years.”
“At present, we have 60 centres across the country, run by around 2,500 employees, catering to around 30,000 students who attend our classroom programmes. I am glad that education and educators are being respected and appreciated today. This love and respect has allowed us to appear on platforms like this and express ourselves. I am thankful for what education has given me in return.”
How do you see the said portrayal of your charcter in the Kota Factory film?
This is what Nitin Vijay said in response: “Everything has positives and negatives. We are not competitors of schools, rather, we are specialists who train students for science and other competitive examinations. The number of doctors and scientists Kota has delivered is phenomenal. Without students, kota might lose its existence.
Kota students put themselves under severe stress. Don’t you think they look upon teachers as too much?
In reponse, he said: “Not every student reaches desired colleges. Kota as a city with its ecosystem, trains students to learn 14-15 hours. This discipline helps them be successful in life, if not in entrance exams. Everyone wants to be successful in life. We want to be successful in life. However we track success and define its parameters in the wrong way. Being a doctor or making it into IITs are not the only definitions of success. Being successful is being disciplined, putting in hard efforts and succeeding in life in the longer run.”
“We must know the difference between struggle and pain. Working or learning the discipline to work 14-15 hours a day is struggle, not pain. It’s this struggle that takes you forward in your life and career. However, I can’t deny that unfavorable incidents keep occuring in Kota, and we as teachers do hold some responsibility in mitigating them,” he added further.
What about Ed-Tech scams being reported, is there something happening?
Nitin Vijay responded as: “Owing to funding pressure, some Ed-Tech startups might have swayed towards irregularities, but the government should have a screening mechanism to keep a check on this. However, we need to revamp the education system today. We need to understand the influx of new ways of learning and learning technologies, every new year. It’s essential that students should be able to adapt to these shifts in learning technology and trends, implement and benefit from these shifts themselves to be able to learn and teach independently.”
What is the value of Class 12 marks?
In his reponse, ‘NV Sir’ said: “Sometimes we need to do things which have validity and are widely recognized. Chemistry is majorly learning and lacks the logic of subjects like Maths and Physics, but you still have to study this because it’s validated and recognized. I didn’t study chemistry and hence got 3000 rank in the IIT entrance exam.”
“Board exams have a strong validity and 12th is very important because the world will see you through the lens of your academic exams, the measures set by the world and the system. You will have to prove yourself on the pre-set parameters. I request all students who are preparing for competitive exams, to study and pay emphasis on board exams as well,” he further added.
Taalking about how average students can achieve their goals, NV Sir said: “No target is bigger than your courage. It is they who lose, who fight. If you don’t honestly indulge in your deeds, you won’t be able to do anything. The deeper the well, the sweeter the water. You need to provide exposure and help evolve the mindset of a student who hails from the average middle class, whose family earns not more than 10-15,000 rupees.”
“To push children from these backgrounds, you need to lift them up gradually with more exposure and training. I hail from a middle-class family as well, so my dad told me that unless you have the conviction and stubbornness, you won’t achieve your target. In my case, yes, you need funds to run a business, but your obsession with your passion is of utmost importance,” he further added.
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