CHENNAI: Many people in rural India don’t have electricity, running water, or other basic amenities. I want to help them live a better life and contribute to my country. I feel that this is the best way to do that,” says 22-year-old M Venkatachelam, shifting his attention back to the pile of books that have made a house in his apartment. He is one of the many starry-eyed UPSC aspirants preparing to appear for the prelims in June this year. In 2018, around eight lakh students appeared for prelims of which 10,500 were selected for the main exams. For decades, the civil service dream has been a rite of passage for many twenty-year-olds who brace themselves to appear for one of the toughest exams that are divided into three parts over 12 months.
Promising to make this dream come true are approximately 40 UPSC coaching centres in Anna Nagar — one of the costliest neighbourhoods in the city.
Their larger than life posters and banners — displaying their seemingly excellent track record — adorn almost every nook and cranny of this suburb. Even on junction boxes.
Why Anna Nagar?
The All India Civil Services Coaching Centre at Chennai is the only institute in the State which is run by the Government of Tamil Nadu to coach candidates. According to the heads of many coaching academies, Anna Nagar became a hotspot for civil service coaching centres after the State-run All-Indian Civil Services Coaching Centre was set up on 12th Main Road. It catered to candidates from backward classes, schedule caste and schedule tribe. This worked as a magnet for students across the state. But on the flipside, it had only limited seats.
Enter private players.
“Though in 2012, the State-run All India Civil Service Coaching centre was shifted from Anna Nagar to Greenways Road, Anna Nagar still remains the favourite spot of the UPSC coaching institutes,” says Ramesh, an official of Indian IAS Academy.
The Civil Services Examination, although notorious for its difficulty, has seen a surge in Chennai-based aspirants, in recent years. “Following the 2008 job crisis, there were not many takers for private jobs. Like any business, the boom in the number of coaching academies was a result of a corporate-style business model. In addition, many centres have conducted extensive publicity programmes, such that the idea of writing the exam has reached people who have never thought of it before,” says D Venkatesh Kumar, director, The Impact IAS Academy.
KTS Mugundan, vice president (administration) of Officers IAS Academy, shares, “Anna Nagar always attracted government officials and intellectuals to construct their houses in the locality. In due course, to cater to the needs of their reading habits, many Study Halls came up in the locality, which were flocked by students who prepare for different competitive exams. So, the coaching centres find Anna Nagar a suitable place to start their academies.” The success of a few centres attracted others to venture into this business.
Officials of different coaching institutes also attribute the growth to factors like affordable hostels and accommodation facilities which are available in plenty. Besides, many experts who provide classes to aspirants also reside near Anna Nagar, making the locality the first choice for coaching centres.
From Delhi to Chennai
For decades, most aspirants have been moving to Mukherjee Nagar — the famed settlement in New Delhi for civil services preparation. “Earlier, coaching centres in Delhi were regarded as the best place to prepare, but it seems the notion has changed as we are receiving more number of aspirants every year. Even students from states like Punjab and Bihar seem to prefer Chennai,” shares an official of
SAI IAS Academy
Recalling his own experience of writing the exam in the late 90s, Kumar said that before the establishment of the All India Civil Service Coaching Centre in Chennai, in 2000, many aspirants travelled to Delhi to prepare for the exam. “In Delhi, there was easier access to information and books needed for general knowledge. Upon the establishment of the centre, Tamil Nadu became the second hub,” he says.
Bhavana Singh, a civil service aspirant from Patna chose Chennai over Delhi. “Delhi has become very crowded. There are lakhs of candidates who come to the capital city every year with the dream to crack the exam. So, when it came to deciding a coaching centre, I chose the one in Chennai,” she says, refusing to divulge further details about the academy.
Coupled with many aspirants passing the exam in a vernacular language, as well as speeches by civil services officers in colleges, awareness on the examination has gone up, said M Shanmugam, director of Vetri IAS Academy. “Social media also plays a huge role in this. People share posts when friends or family clear the exam, and the media interviews not just the student but also the entire family. This creates more awareness,” he says.
Residents approve
Most coaching centres function six days a week, and the class timings vary from centre to centre. The boom has meant brisk business for many residents of Anna Nagar. Residential buildings have been converted into exclusive hostels, where many hostels are providing facilities like Wi-Fi connection, healthy homecooked food and noise-free ambience.
“As many coaching institutes are located here, students search for accommodation nearby to save commute time. We have designed our hostel to fit the need of the students,” says S Narsimhan, owner of a hostel in Anna Nagar. Students also find Anna Nagar conducive to their preparatory needs. “The locality is peaceful and it is near Koyambedu bus terminus, which helps us in travelling back home,” says V Sunitha, a civil service aspirant.