BENGALURU : With a plethora of coaching institutes setting up their centres in the city, Bengaluru is turning into a hub for UPSC preparation. Many institutes have witnessed a significant rise in the number of enrolments. Most of the candidates getting admitted to centres for coaching are ex-IT employees.
One of the institutes for UPSC, Rau’s Study Circle has enrolled 920 students this year against 540 last year, witnessing a 41 per cent rise. Speaking to CE, Bineet Semwal, the centre head at Rau’s, said, over 200 of the students enrolled were employees of software companies. “As the schedule is so hectic, employees are finding it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance,” he said.
An IT employee, Anirudh Reddy agreed. The IIT graduate said, “My job demands that I work for 15 hours every day. Though the salary is lucrative, the job is exorbitantly tiring. So I am planning to switch to civil services as it is quite feasible.” Another IT professional Bhavya Chowdary is also preparing for the examination. She said she is ‘displeased’ with her job. “I am not satisfied with my job as it is monotonous. Civil service gives a sense of security and has alluring opportunities. That’s why I want to give it a shot,” she said.
Semal added, “Students from neighbouring states are also preferring Bengaluru to study in because of the city’s cosmopolitan outlook and its pleasant weather. Around 75 per cent of our students are non-locals; 20 per cent from Andhra Pradesh, 20 from Tamil Nadu and 10 per cent from Kerala. The rest 25 per cent are from the north and north-eastern parts of the country.” Achiever’s IAS Academy has enrolled 80 students this year.
Officers’ Academy, another well-known institute based in Chennai has partnered with Ramaiah University last month and has already enrolled 40 students for the Interview Guidance Programme. Rangarajan, an ex-IAS officer of Assam cadre, who is an associate director at the institute, said many private employees are taking up the UPSC. “In the past one decade, the job market has been extremely volatile.
In such a scenario, public sector offers greater job security and many perks.”Many other institutes such as Bangalore School of Civil Services and Global IAS Academy and ed-tech startup giant Byju’s, which provides both online and offline courses, have also seen a steep rise in the admissions.