Coaching centres in Delhi go online amid lockdown

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS): With the war against coronavirus getting prolonged and strict social distancing rules in force, coaching centres in the national capital have switched to virtual teaching to ensure that students, whose competitive exams are fast approaching, are not affected.

Students and institutes were earlier left in the lurch after Delhi government issued an advisory against holding classes in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus as such places are generally cramped and overcrowded.

Coaching centres then had to turn tech-savvy as examinations to get admission into the reputed Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), along with tests for Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and Judicial Services was imminent.

Speaking to IANS, Manish Kumar of Delhi Institute of Administrative Services said, "We are currently experimenting with online classes to see how they pan out. Students are being taught through live classes for the past four days. We are only left with this option."

Kumar further said that students have pinned their hopes on the government to postpone the examinations in the wake of the coronavirus induced lockdown in the country.

Assuaging the fears, the Union Public Service Commission on Wednesday said that any rescheduling of Civil Services-2020 (Prelim), Engineering Services (Main) and Geologist Services (Main) examinations, if necessitated, will be notified.

Meanwhile, the National Defence Academy (NDA) examination, among various others, has already been postponed till further intimation.

Delhi's Aakash Institutes, which provides coaching for engineering and medical examinations, is also well-connected with the students across the country through live classes. Recorded videos are also shared with the students to help them understand better.

"For students who are not tech-savvy and face technical glitches, teachers are conducting online classes to strengthen their basics. This helps students to get well-versed with the digital learning medium and resume classes at a faster pace," a statement issued by the institute said.

Unfortunately, there are some institutes which were not prepared for the lockdown and the curbs on coaching centres and have been caught in the middle now.

Officials at the Sriram IAS Academy in West Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar said that they were not conducting online classes as they were not ready for the sudden onslaught.

"We are not conducting online classes yet. We will decide on going digital after the second phase of the lockdown is over. We did not have recorded classes, otherwise, that could have been given to the students," said Ashutosh Singh of the Sriram IAS Academy.