Ever wondered the moment your child completes the prelims (pre-boards) at schools or once the annual day /sports day/cultural day are over at the school, you start receiving numerous calls from numerous coaching institutes asking you that what have you decided about your child’s future studies? Will he be preparing for an IIT-JEE (Engineering entrance exam) or will he be preparing for NEET (Medical entrance exam)?
Scenario 1:
You see an unknown number on your phone screen, yet You are compelled to speak to the unknown caller. Why?? Because the caller used the Golden word that forced you to continue with the call, and that golden word is your child’s name. The caller immediately after greeting you says,” Hello kya mein ABC bacche k papa XYZ se baat kar rahi/raha hu”? Aapka baccha ABC DEF school mein iss saal 10th ki exam de raha hai??? Now this much info about your child and the school he is studying in, Is enough to entertain the unknown caller without hanging up the call. These were the golden words that prompted you to continue with the call and once you have verified that all the details that the caller is providing you is correct (while still wondering in your mind that maybe the caller is a Big Antaryami) the game of selling big dreams begins.
Once the caller has gained your attention by using your childs name and other details about him, the caller now identifies her/himself as an academic counsellor ( a hard core sales person with targets to achieve to qualify for the salary) and incentives) of an XYZ coaching institute. He/She than asks about the future career plans that you and your child may have. If you don’t have any they will then bu rain wash you and literally coax you to visit their coaching institute and once you are there, you will come out only by paying a token amount for a coaching seat for your child that will make him a doctor or an engineer. Congratulations ……. you just got cheated…..aapka kat gaya aur aapko pata bhi nahi chala.
Now the question that you will have is,” How do I know that you got cheated”. Well the answer is simple. You just got brain washed into paying the fee for a coaching institute without even considering the fact which is the potential and caliber of your child ( read part 1 of this series,” Every child is a Doctor and an Engineer”), your child’s final percentage in the boards exams, is your child genuinely interested in Engineering or medical as a career and many such factors which are crucial to consider before making such a big decision and a big insured investment . I will reiterate that no coaching class can give a guarantee that your child will eventually crack the entrance exam. Had the claims of coaching classes been true, each student at every coaching class should have become a Doctor or an Engineer, but the fact remains that only a few out of thousands actually clear the entrance exam. I am again reminding you …its not a cake walk…
Scenario 2:
The call from an unknown number, grabbing your attention by using the golden word etc… every step remains the same, but this time the calls will start pouring in right after the results of 10th boards are announced. Again, the same selling will start in the name of education counselling. You will be called again and again until you either block the number or till the time you visit the coaching class…….and once you visit the coaching class the story ends there ……..Kamaal hai aapka kat gaya aur aapko pata bhi nahi chala. Don’t forget coaching classes are the most flourishing businesses these days , and every business hires smart sales people to sell the products and these sales people are the ones who make you buy things that you don’t need, or things which will not be of any use to you, Or make promises which are unreal , or show you a picture that would never happen, and most important they will hit your soft spot, they will challenge your caring parent inside you, they will play with your emotions, and yes every parent is vulnerable and emotional with matters concerning their child’s well being and a bright successful career. Our emotions and vulnerability stops us from taking a value based decision in front of those amazing sales team and their too good to believe sales pitch (that portrays your child as soon to become Engineer or a Doctor, which you actually start believing) out there usually called the Academic Counsellors, Academic Mentors etc.
Scenario 3:
Everything remains the same about you getting a call from an unknown number etc .
But in this case you tell the caller that your child will appear for engineering/Medical entrance exam, but without going for a full time coaching , or that your child is already enrolled with any other coaching institute, that you still not have decided upon a coaching institute, or you say that you will think later whether or not to send your child for coaching…………. You think that you can get rid of those sales people that easily……let me tell you that here too you are highly mistaken…..You are speaking to the seasoned super sales people who will dish out a product to counter your rebuttal….
Above are a few examples that amplify the fact about coaching classes are mostly hardcore sales and less about education.
Now comes the shocker…….How did they get your number? Well your child’s name and other details along with details of lakhs of other such students are on sale in the market. The coaching classes purchase this data and then they start their targeted tele-calling.
How the data is purchased, who purchases it, do the schools sell the data, how could your information can be obtained to be later on sold in the market is something that you would like to surely know…
Read the next article in this series…..The Nexus and the Barter
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