The lifeless bodies of three civil services aspirants—Tania Soni, Shreya Yadav, and Navin Delvin—discovered in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar, lay bare the grim reality of dreams cruelly eclipsed by disaster. Their deaths, a stark reminder of human negligence, occurred when relentless rain on Saturday evening inundated the basement, turning a space of hopeful ambition into a chamber of tragedy.
In the wake of this calamity, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi belatedly took action, sealing 13 “illegal” coaching centres in the same area, including IAS Gurukul, Chahal Academy, Plutus Academy and others. The list reads like a graveyard of dreams—each name a testament to a system that failed these students and many more.
India’s coaching centres, intended to be sanctuaries for students aspiring to excel in competitive exams, have instead become arenas of peril. The intense academic pressure that drives these institutions often overshadows the fundamental need for safety. The disaster in Old Rajinder Nagar highlights a pattern of negligence—where dreams are sacrificed at the altar of profit and lack of oversight exposing deep-rooted issues in the educational system that demand urgent reform.
Surat fire tragedy
One of the most devastating incidents in recent years was the Surat fire tragedy of May 24, 2019. The fire broke out in the Takshashila Arcade building, housing a coaching centre in Surat, Gujarat. The blaze, caused by a short circuit in the air-conditioning system, rapidly engulfed the flohttps://www.firstpost.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=priority-N18/priority_N18.phpors occupied by the centre, resulting in the deaths of 22 students. The tragedy exposed severe safety lapses: the building was not equipped with adequate fire safety measures, lacked proper fire exits and used flammable materials in its construction. This incident triggered widespread public outrage and led to a thorough investigation. In response, the Gujarat government implemented stricter fire safety regulations and took legal action against the building owner and coaching centre operators. This tragedy highlighted the dire need for stringent enforcement of safety standards in educational institutions.
The Kota crisis
Kota, often referred to as India’s coaching capital, has witnessed numerous incidents related to negligence and poor safety practices. The city, which hosts thousands of students in its coaching centres, has experienced a series of tragedies linked to overcrowded classrooms, substandard hostel facilities and inadequate medical care. The pressure to excel academically coupled with poor living conditions has led to severe health issues and even deaths among students. In response, the Rajasthan government has introduced regulations to address these concerns including mandatory safety standards for coaching centres and increased inspections. Despite these measures, the ongoing challenges in Kota underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to ensure student safety and well-being.
The burning coaching centre
On June 16, 2023, a horrific fire erupted in a coaching centre in Northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, forcing students into a frantic scramble for survival. Amid the chaos, desperate students rappelled down from the building using ropes and wires perched precariously on air-conditioning compressors and in some cases jumping from windows to escape the flames.
The Delhi Police reported that the fire left 61 students and several staff members from nearby commercial offices injured. The victims sustained burns to their arms, necks and legs. The scene of panic and disorder reflected the critical need for stringent safety measures in educational institutions where such emergencies reveal the perilous gaps in safety protocols.
Root causes of negligence
Addressing the issue of negligence in coaching centres in India seems to be a futile exercise in a system that perpetuates its own failures. The calls for stricter regulations and enforcement of safety standards echo in a void where enforcement is as weak as the regulations themselves. The promises of rigorous inspections and mandatory adherence to safety codes are nothing more than empty gestures, while tragedies continue unabated. The sad reality is that, despite repeated assurances, there is no substantial mechanism in place to hold these centres accountable or to enforce the changes that are so desperately needed.
The push for improved infrastructure is equally hollow. While the rhetoric advocates for well-maintained and purpose-built facilities, the reality is that most coaching centres operate in buildings that are woefully inadequate. Investments in safety and infrastructure remain a distant dream as financial constraints and a lack of regulatory pressure ensure that many centres will continue to cut corners. Until there is a genuine commitment to enforcing safety standards, these centres will remain perilous places where students’ lives are constantly at risk.
Enhanced emergency preparedness is often touted as a solution, but in practice, it remains a theoretical concept. The reality is that many coaching centres lack basic emergency protocols and safety drills are rare or nonexistent. The notion of implementing comprehensive safety training for staff and students is frequently overshadowed by cost-cutting measures and neglect. As a result, students are left vulnerable in environments where proper safety measures are merely a checkbox on a regulatory list rather than a lived reality.
Increased accountability for negligence remains a distant ideal. The lack of legal and financial repercussions for those responsible for maintaining safety is a testament to a system that shields its failures rather than addressing them. The notion that operators and building owners will face genuine consequences for their negligence is a cruel joke. The system remains entrenched in its own inertia, ensuring that the cycle of negligence continues unchecked.
Ultimately, the focus on student well-being is often a mere afterthought. The promises of prioritising mental health and safe living conditions are overshadowed by the harsh realities of a system that consistently fails to protect its students. As long as this broken system persists, it is inevitable that more lives will be lost and countless dreams will be shattered.
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Coaching centres as death traps: Why are IAS dreams being sold at the cost of safety?
