This startup by IITians helps students crack competitive exams
What's the story
To be able to promote education across India, we must first acknowledge that most educational institutions here do not make themselves accessible to all people. In many regions, institutes (at least the ones offering good education) are often either too far, too expensive, too ableist, etc. However, a startup founded by three Indian Institute of Technology alumni is looking to change that.
Details
Three IITians left their lucrative jobs to start Vedantu
In 2014, IITians Pulkit Jain, Vamsi Krishna, and Anand Prakash quit their lucrative jobs to establish Vedantu, a live online tutoring company. According to The Better India, Vedantu reaches out to more than 15,000 students across 500+ cities to offer quality education for classes 6th to 12th, and also helps students prepare for competitive exams such as the JEE and NEET.
Inception
Vedantu started-off as offline coaching for 30 students
Prakash told The Better India that Vedantu started off as offline coaching when they were asked to coach around 30 kids in Patiala. When 11 of them got into top IITs, the trio felt determined to move forward. "For a city which had never really seen many IITians coming out, or even had students aspiring for it, this was a huge encouragement," Prakash added.
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Vedantu facilitates a holistic academic growth of students: Prakash
"As teachers, we have the responsibility of molding our students in the right direction. And Vedantu, keeping the teacher at the center, facilitates a holistic academic growth of the student, working on their strengths and weaknesses, all at the same time," said Prakash.
Mechanism
Here's how their online coaching system works
Vedantu reportedly utilizes artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data to form a personalized teaching model that allows live interactive learning between teacher and student. They describe their model- the Whiteboard Audio Video Environment (WAVE)- as more of a Skype chat, personalized for two-way teacher-student communication. WAVE reportedly keeps parents in the loop. Vedantu also takes regular quizzes after sessions to ensure healthy competition.
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Classes at Vedantu offer personalized attention to each student
Each session has a maximum of 200 students, with one master teacher and several moderators. A student may raise doubts to moderators so the class isn't disrupted. However, if the teacher deems the doubt relevant for the whole class, they address it to all students.
Students
'Sometimes dreaming big isn't enough,' says Vedantu student
One of their students- Sumit Jain (17) recently secured AIR-1 in JEE Advanced in the people with disabilities (PwD) category. Jain, a resident of Satna, Madhya Pradesh, has partial visual impairment. Another student, Kartik Thakur, hails from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. With the nearest tuition center 10kms away, Thakur took Vedantu classes and scored 96% in Board exams. "Sometimes dreaming big isn't enough," he said.
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Vedantu prioritizes learning over marks
Prakash told The Better India their classes don't have selections on the basis of marks, because Vedantu encourages learning over greater scores. "Whoever wants to learn and improve can get help from our teachers, who are one of the best in the industry," he said.