Without a doubt, police service is one of the toughest jobs in the country, and to prepare the new entrants for the road ahead, they are made to go through some grueling physical training sessions before being assigned any posting. But, this is the second phase, before this, they have to clear written examinations, too. And this is not just for the elite IPS, whose officers have to sit and pass one of India’s toughest examinations, UPSC CSE. Aspirants for the police jobs of inspectors, sub-inspectors, and constables also need to crack examinations for selection.
But, unlike UPSC, aspirants for these police exams find it hard to find any special coaching institutions dedicated to them. In such a scenario, an IPS officer from Gujarat, Mr. Karanraj Vaghela, has come forward to help such candidates by providing them with free coaching to help them qualify for the recruitment exams.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Karanraj Vaghela talked about his initiative of opening coaching institutions for the aspirants of Grade 2,3, and 4 government posts.
FIRST STEP TAKEN IN RAJKOT
During his stint as the DCP of Rajkot, Gujarat, from 2016-2018, Mr. Vaghela came up with this idea, wherein under the umbrella of the Suraksha Setu Society Project of the Home Department of the Gujarat Government, the officer, and his team conducted six different coaching seminars across the city, in a span of two years.
“The initiative became very successful with over 350 students, from Rajkot and nearby areas, participating in the coaching together. We helped the students in studying and preparing for various competitive examinations so that they can acquire a government job for themselves,” Mr. Vaghela told Indian Masterminds.
INTRODUCING COACHING IN BOTAD
When the officer was appointed as the Superintendent of Police in Botad, he made up his mind to carry on his initiative in the new district, as well. Botad is a fairly new district that came into inception on 15 August 2013, along with six other districts.
“I checked the data from 2013 and I was surprised to note that in the last nine years of its existence, there were no coaching institutions available in the district for competitive examinations. There was no facility for anyone to be able to prepare for government jobs,” stated Mr. Vaghela.
He added that if any person wished to prepare for Gujarat state PCS, class 1 and class 2 officers of Deputy Collectors’ office, inspector services, sub-inspector services, Deputy Section officers, Deputy Tehsildars, Deputy Mamlatdar, Constable services, or any kind of clerical jobs, there were no coaching institutions available for them in Botad district.
“I came to know that students were forced to visit or temporarily move to big cities like Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Bhavnagar to prepare for such examinations. The worse part was that students coming from poor backgrounds could not even afford to go to the big cities and prepare for the examinations since the accommodation and coaching expenses in the cities are very high,” he said.
RELUCTANT PARENTS
Another issue that especially female students faced was the reluctance of their parents and families to send them far away for coaching purposes. Being the parent of a girl child, they are usually scared and unwilling to let their girls go to another city for preparation.
Understanding the situation, the officer decided to plan his first seminar for competitive exams in the month of May that year. During the seminar, he asked the students if they will be willing to join coaching classes in the district if he initiated it. He explained to them that the classes would be organized on a regular basis every weekend.
“After the seminar, more than 200 people registered for the coaching institution, assuring us that they are ready to join if we establish the classes for them. So we started the coaching institutions in June of the same year,” Mr. Vaghela said.
GREAT FOOTFALL
He started the coaching classes in the SP office auditorium. Students from not only Botad but also nearby and even far-off districts, including girls, started coming to prepare for competitive examinations. The parents of female students were no longer reluctant to send their daughters to coaching, as the classes were started in the SP office, and that sense of safety motivated them to send their daughters.
“We saw a great footfall with people coming from not just Botad but also from Bhavnagar, Surya Nagar, Rajkot, and other places to study in our coaching. More than 280 students were present in the coaching every weekend,” he said.
The coaching is absolutely free of cost. Free study material is also provided to students for all the subjects that they are taught in the coaching. The police have tied up with TTC Academy of Rajkot who sends their faculties to Botad every weekend for teaching the students.
“The students are getting 10 hours of coaching every weekend. These classes will altogether provide over 200 hours of coaching for the preparation of class 2, class 3, and class 4 exams. By the end of October, the first batch of students will be ready to appear for the competitive exams. We are looking forward to seeing people from Botad get selected for government jobs, soon,” Mr. Vaghela said.
