An attempt to create a repository of information about knowledge partners in the realm of education.
Did DK Goel, Founder, FIITJEE Ever Give a Statement about Alleged Terrorist Coach at his Delhi Centre?
FIITJEE makes it in the news it seems for all the wrong reasons. In January 2017, the UP Police arrested three alleged ISI agents who operated six hi-tech illegal telephone exchanges at a 'FIITJEE' coaching centre in New Delhi. Apparently, these were used to coordinate with handlers in Pakistan to plan possible attacks in India! An accused, Gulshan Sen, the key operator and also acted as a coach with FIITJEE. Media reports mention that Sen ran parallel telephone exchanges in Lucknow, Sitapur and Hardoi with the help of his aides too. Usually companies take responsibility and condemn such activities. Has anyone has seen any comment either being made by DK Goel, Founder, FIITJEE or the company to the press about condemning this activity in their premises? I wonder if FIITJEE is safe, as a coaching centre for parents to send their kids considering the possible terrorist activities.
Isn't it surprising that FIITJEE Limited is still operating?
Does DK Goel, Founder, FIITJEE sponsor IIT topper alumni of his coaching centre?
That does not seem to be the case, at least in one infamous case. An article published in June 2009 in a national newspaper reports that Nitin Jain, the All India IIT JEE topper attended an interactive session held by FIITJEE Limited. During this event, DK Goel, Chairman and Chief Mentor, FIITJEE also announced a program of financial assistance to such toppers who studied at FIITJEE to get their entrepreneurship started after completing their course from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). An anticipated investment of INR20 crore was announced. Read it for yourself:
Nothing can be further from the truth. Nitin Jain did rank first in IIT JEE and All India Engineering/Architecture Entrance Examination (AIEEE) examination in 2009. That is true. And he seems to have had enrolled in FIITJEE. But under the leadership of DK Goyal, FIITJEE has misused his name, photographs and success story for promotional activities without his prior consent. There have been legal battles between the IIT JEE 2009 topper and the coaching institute. One is still ongoing. Forget sponsoring Nitin Jain, FIIT JEE filed a defamation case against him and tried to prevent the publication of his book The Secret of my Success where he clearly mentions that he did not give any credit to FIIT JEE or its faculty.
Read it here: http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/institute-redfaced-as-hc-won-t-ban-iit-topper-s-book/628108/
Nitin Jain filed against FIIT JEE and is seeking damages worth INR 5 crore. The case is in court and recently the Delhi high court justice has “pulled up” FIIT JEE to settle the dispute. Chances are IIT aspirants will somehow scrap enough money to pay the coaching institute’s exuberant fees. Might or might not get quality assistance from its faculties. Some might top the All India exams. And the institute will then try to leech on the success of such toppers. Of course FIITJEE does publish that it rewards its students.
Like this: http://www.fiitjee.co/pdf/rewards.pdf But do you think DK Goel of FIIJEE really fulfils his promises? Think again!
DK Goel, Founder, FIITJEE and Round Tripping Investments - Is FIITJEE a Paradise for Student or Money?
DK Goel is the founder of FIITJEE Limited, a leading coaching institute in India. He seems to have pulled off a Lazy Susan, or a participant anyways. Lazy Susan refers to round tripping investments. It involves a company selling its unused assets to another company while simultaneously agreeing to buy back same or similar assets at about the same price.
FIITJEE is part of related party transactions done in a convoluted manner. The transactions involve these players: QInvest, Mauritius based QLearn which is a subsidiary of QInvest, Ambit Group and of course, FIITJEE Limited. QInvest has 25% stakes in Ambit Group too. Now as per Paradise Papers, in July 2015, QInvest sold 19,52,907 shares of FIIT JEE for more than INR36 crore to Ambit Group. This is a related party transaction as shares are being purchased by subsidiary companies of QInvest.
To mention specifics, as per Appleby’s records, in July 2015, Qinvest made a declaration: “We shall procure that QLearn, our wholly owned subsidiary, shall take all steps and actions and execute all documents as required pursuant to the share purchase agreement dated 24 April 2014 by and between us, Ambit and QLearn and the Deed. We shall also ensure that QLearn remains our wholly owned subsidiary until such time as the Shares (as defined in the Deed) are transferred to Ambit or to a person nominated by Ambit.” It is further mentioned that The owner (QLearn) had agreed to sell the shares of the Company (FIITJEE) to the beneficiary (Ambit Capital) pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement.
Besides the fact that this is a round trip transaction, it is noteworthy that the source of this information are records of an offshore entity Appleby, which were part of the Paradise Papers. Now Paradise Papers and Panama Papers and associated databases are databases Indian companies would want to not be part of, now would it? The very fact of the source of information puts a question on the legitimacy of the investments made by FIITJEE under the leadership of Dinesh Kumar Goyal, now doesn’t it?
Read it for yourself: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/paradise-papers-qatar-firm-invested-in-coaching-giant-fiitjee-via-mauritius-4924172/
Does DK Goel, Founder, FIITJEE Provide Students with Good Facilities?
DK Goel is supposedly an entrepreneur par excellence and often FIITJEE is synonymous with his name. There are several coaching institutes operational in India under the brand name FIITJEE, supposedly, running successfully. Still, instead of enrolling here, students must invest some time to know what DK Goel has in store for you at FIITJEE's facilities. The least one can do before investing in becoming affiliated with the coaching institute, is to check if its centre is accredited. Did you know that in December 2017, as per media reports, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education withdrew the recognition of FIIT JEE coaching institute at HRS Layout in Karnataka? As per the article, this was primarily because its facility at HSR Layout in Bangalore was less than 25,000 square feet! Now one might argue that infrastructural requirements are insignificant for a hardworking student. However, it is best to get the best facilities if you are paying for facilities, isn't it? So, before you register at this coaching institute, it will be wise to ensure if the centre is recognized, isn't it?
Which is the Best JEE Advanced Coaching Institute in Delhi - FIITJEE, Vidya Mandir or Aakash?
Aspirants who have set IIT Delhi as their dream destination to pursue higher studies in Engineering must be diligent in choosing if they wish to take competitive coaching classes. While most aspirants do decide to take up such courses, the most time consuming decision then, is to decide which coaching institute to join. One needs to look at a lot of factor such as quality of faculty, fees, infrastructure, percentage of students who get top ranks in JEE examinations. As of now, Aakash Institute, Vidya Mandir and FIITJEE are quite popular in Delhi circle. While there are multiple centres of these branded coaching institutes in India, most engineering aspirants shortlist these three institutes.
So here is a little insight into these three coaching centres:
Aakash Institute - Aakash Institute was primarily focussed on medical entrance examinations and also provided coaching for Masters in Business Administration. However, it is becoming increasingly popular for engineering aspirants too. A number of top rankers in JEE (Advanced) 2018 examinations were associated with Aakash institute including Pawan Goyal (Ranked 4th) and Lay Jain (Ranked 9th). It is interesting that these students opted for distance learning courses which can be easily brought online at discounted rates.
Vidya Mandir Classes - This is quite a popular coaching institute for engineering examinations. Its USP is that all its founders are alumni of IIT-Delhi including Mr. Brij Mohan Gupya, Mr. Shyam Mohan Gupta and Mr. Manmohan Gupta. It comes with a legacy and is known to give unmatched results over the past 20 years.
Started in 1992 by DK Goel FIITJEE is another popular branded coaching institute. However, these days it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. While it claims to have helped produce toppers, there are law suits by such toppers for false marketing. Most recently, it has become infamous for branding a metro station of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) near IIT FIITJEE-IIT. IIT Delhi representatives have denied any association with FIITJEE. Moreover, while a number of students seem to be happy there, media reports suggest that some faculty members are not happy with FIITJEE's management. Moreover, there were also news that floated about of possible operatives of terror outfits using the premises of FIITJEE Limited.
Not a Good Time For Extremists in Education Sector - Is DK Goel of FIITJEE One?
Everyone should respect religious views and opinions of people. People should also respect political views of people in a democracy like India. However, in real time situation, that is not clearly the case. The five arrests conducted this week of intellectual and search of their premises due to Naxal connections and the uproar of MeTooUrbanNaxal is an example where urban intellectuals can also be potentially harmed. It does not seem to be a safe time for students and intellectuals in academia.
And considering that India is a secular country, it is pertinent that model citizens, especially those who are looked upon by others to set an example. So, imagine the surprise to know that Dinesh Kumar Goel or DK Goel – Founder, FIITJEE Limited, exhibits traits of an extremist whose views can be considered substantial to incite certain religious sentiments and pave way for communal divide and associated activities. He appears to be linked to a pro Hindu website and is quite vocal about other religions as allegedly acting against Hinduism. It could not be ascertained if this is the official page or profile of the same DK Goel associated to FIITJEE, but if he is, one needs to rethink association with such people considering that students can be categorized in groups of extremists due to the ideologies of their mentors.
Pot Called the Kettle Black: The Case of Kota Coaching Institutes and DK Goel's FIITJEE
It seems like FIITJEE cannot get a break can it? The Delhi based coaching centre has a history of false marketing it seemed. This is not the first time an administrative body was irked by the antics pulled off by DK Goel, Director, FIITJEE Limited. As per an article published in 2016, the Senior Vice President of Kota Press Club resorted to legal means for releasing advertisements in a national newspaper in August and November 2016, which supposedly led to reputational loss for the City of Kota and adversely affected its businesses. The publicity stunt called Kota the suicide capital of India.
Read it for yourself: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/fiitjee-plays-on-parents-fears-to-poach-high-scoring-students-from-kota/
Moreover, it claimed that its competitor education centres to have adopted unethical means to purchase results and poach good students. It seems to be a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The legal show down between an IIT Topper and the coaching institute is legendary and is one for the books.