Conventional or Modern: Online NEET Coaching Classes a Boon?

With the development and advances made in technology, particularly the Internet, various new techniques of offering education have cropped up. Many indigenous companies have been established, that offer aspirants from remote areas of the country, to pursue their passion.

Many Internet-based companies such as BYJU’s, NEETPrep, Youth4works, ICA Edu Skills, etc, have focused on reaching the far corners of the country, to provide an opportunity to those lacking financial support, with a chance to crack national-level entrance exams.

Benefits of Online NEET Coaching Classes

Here are some of the benefits of NEET online coaching classes as pointed out by different education industry experts.

• Cheaper in terms of coaching fees, compared to coaching institutes in Cities.

• Eliminates wastage of time by reducing travel time.

• Allows aspirants to focus on studying and understanding different concepts, which can further help them crack NEET exams and allow them to be enrolled in premier institutes like AIIMS.

• Personalised for every student, recognising the need of each student. This can be achieved through the on the spot question and answers which are conducted by the online coaching platforms.

Over the years, many coaching institutes have been established across India, however, they are either set up in urban settings or metropolitan cities, where the cost of education, as well as miscellaneous expenses, go over 2 lakhs in certain situations. This renders aspirants from rural areas and economically weaker sections of society to miss out on opportunities to lead the life they are passionate about.

The online platforms like BYJU’s and NEETPrep, have been offering online programmes to those who have been working towards cracking NEET exams. The platforms often use the video-streaming facilities to teach and interact with the students on a much personal level.

Students who have been enrolled under different online platforms have been able to obtain coaching for high-competition exams such as NEET-UG, at a fraction of the cost it would have taken if they enrolled in one of the big coaching centres in the city. This allows aspirants from different rural settings to receive coaching classes and prepare for the high-level entrance exams.

In a statement to the media, CEO and co-founder of NEETPrep, Kapil Gupta, spoke about the costs of being enrolled in a classroom-based coaching institute in a city. He stated it had been noticed that aspirants were charged around ₹1.5 lakhs per year, just for the coaching classes. This price would be higher for those who travel from smaller cities or even rural areas of the country, which could lead to an annual cost of 2 lakhs or more for such students.

With the help of such online platforms, students are asked to pay a minimal price when compared to the institutes, while also enjoying the comfort of staying at home, thus further minimising the overall cost. Reports suggest a student enrolled under one of the online platforms are asked to pay approximately ₹25,000, annually, in order to obtain the coaching classes for NEET Exams.

Chief Operating Officer of BYJU’s, Mrinal Mohit, speaking to the media, stated that the integration of technology in education offers a personal touch to the classrooms. In other words, students are able to learn and access the coaching classes at their own pace and style. He added that the online classes allow the students to focus on understanding the concepts and not worry about “catching up”.

Many prominent leaders in the education industry such as Prof MC Misra from Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology stated that an extreme change has been witnessed, with a large number of students opting for online coaching classes.

Delhi Medical Council’s President, Girish Tyagi, stated that the times have changed and video streaming has allowed aspirants from remote areas of the country are able to access top-notch coaching classes from some of the top faculties in the country.

Future of Online Coaching Classes

A survey conducted by KPMG and Google has revealed that it is expected to see a huge jump in the overall market for online education by 2021. The survey states that the market is expected to rise to $1.6 billion by 2021 from $247 million in 2016.

More surveys, which have been conducted by various departments, states ICA Edu Skills founder-chairman, Narendra Shyamsukha, reveal that nearly 5.8 million aspirants enrol under different programmes offered by online platforms, such as theirs. He added that out of the total, 28% of the candidates are students who enrol every year under different online programmes.

With the number of applications received by such online education platforms increasing every year, the future of online education seems to be strong. With its unique feature to reach out the remotest areas of the country and offer education to all aspirants, online education may soon overtake the popularity of coaching institutes in cities.