Aakash BYJU'S launches ‘Education for All’ initiative to offer free NEET, JEE coaching to nearly 2,000 students from underprivileged families

The nationwide project will offer free NEET and JEE coaching and scholarships to nearly 2,000 Class VII-XII students from underprivileged families, especially girls.

The launch took place on Wednesday across India simultaneously at 45 locations, including in Kolkata, with the main event taking place at the JW Marriott Hotel, Aerocity in Delhi.

JC Chaudhry, Chairman; Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director and  Abhishek Maheshwari, CEO, Aakash BYJU’S along with other company officials attended the event.

As per the project, all identified students will appear for Aakash BYJU’S National Talent Hunt Exam - 2022 (ANTHE 2022), the institute’s flagship scholarship exam, scheduled to be held between Nov 5—13 across the country both in online and offline mode.

The top 2,000 students would be given free coaching to Aakash BYJU’s most sought after NEET and IIT-JEE coaching programs, based on special considerations.

For identifying the beneficiary students, Aakash will partner with select NGOs, who can nominate students from economically weaker sections, only girl child, and single parent (mother). Aakash BYJU’S has a pan India network boasting nearly 285+ centres, the highest for any coaching institute in the country. Each centre conducts 9 classes on an average.

Commenting on the ‘Education for All’ initiative, Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash BYJU’S, said, “Being in the industry for so long, we see that the aspirations for medical and engineering education are only growing in our country. Our young minds are in awe of these two fields and the opportunities they afford for self-development and social contributions."

"However, there are millions of students who cannot afford private coaching that can hugely further their chances of cracking the entrance exams. What compounds the issue of affordability is gender disparity, where families do not come forward to spend on educating girl students beyond a certain grade. These contexts lower the morale of the students from underprivileged communities and girls in general. Through ‘Education for All’ we are doing our bit to lift the scope and expand the opportunities of coaching for professional courses for these students," he said.

He pointed out that there will be no compromise on the quality of coaching offered to the beneficiary students.

“The idea is to convert each of our centres in Aakash BYJU’S fast expanding network as a centre of excellence not only in coaching but also in inclusivity and women empowerment. We are confident that this initiative will get an overwhelming response from poor families and the ones with a single girl child or a single parent or both,” he said.

Speaking at the Kolkata event, Debajyoti Majumder, Dean & Academic Director- WB & Bihar at Aakash-Byjus, said: "ANTHE is an all-India exam which gives students a chance to compete with students from across the nation."

"Thus, this exam ranking becomes crucial for them," he said.

The scholarships from Education for All initiative are in addition to the regular ANTHE scholarships.

As in the past, ANTHE 2022, the 13th edition, will offer upto 100% scholarships to meritorious students - it will also offer cash prizes to top performers.

Besides, 5 students will also win a free trip to NASA along with a parent. Since its launch, ANTHE has offered scholarships to over 33 lakh students.

What is ANTHE?

ANTHE is a one-hour exam. ANTHE online will be held between 10:00 AM – 07:00 PM during all exam days, while the offline exam will be conducted on November 6 and 13, 2022 in two shifts: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM and 04:00 PM–05:00 PM at all 285+ centres of Aakash BYJU’S across the country. Students can choose a one-hour slot convenient to them.

ANTHE carries a total of 90 marks. It comprises 35 multiple-choice questions that are based on grade and streams the students aspire. For class VII-IX students, the questions will be from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Mental Ability. For class X students aspiring medical education, the exam covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mental Ability, while for the engineering aspirants of the same class, it covers Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Mental Ability. And, for class XI-XII students who aim for NEET, questions will be from Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology, and for engineering aspirants, from Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

(Reporting by Supriyo Hazra/Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)