Patiala’s one-man coaching academy

The man behind the high success rate of the institution is Vinod Sharma. He is perhaps the only teacher in India to be able to provide coaching in both the main option subjects and the general studies paper.

More than two decades ago, with a postgraduate degree in Physics, Sharma decided to appear for the civil services exam, but failed. In 1984 perhaps as a way of exorcising the feeling of failure, he decided to help others and so the academy was born.

“Till 1996, at least a couple of candidates from Patiala consistently ranked among the top 20. But the performance has deteriorated since then, mainly due to the changing trends of the UPSC papers,” says Vinod Sharma.

Saying that the present examination pattern favours the candidates with an engineering background, Vinod adds, “There is disparity between the Maths or Physics papers and those of History or Sociology, since the latter are not so scoring. There is a need for moderation among different options and this can be achieved by setting an upper limit for the maximum marks that can be scored.” The interview, essay and general studies can then be the deciding factors, he suggests.

However, steps are being initiated from next year onwards to remove the domination by engineering students, says Sharma. Out of the set of 15 questions to be attempted, two questions will be compulsory for Maths paper.

Earlier, there were no compulsory questions and only six out of 15 were to be attempted. The students could fare well even by preparing only one-fourth of the syllabus, said Sharma.

Listing conviction, planning and hard work as prerequisites to prepare for the IAS exams, Sharma says that the candidates need to study for at least 12 hours daily for a period of eight months.

The ideal time to start preparing for these exams is during Class XII, and it is also very important to select the right options, depending on one’s inclination and aptitude, says Vinod.

But with more and more engineers and doctors opting for IAS, isn’t it a wastage of professional knowledge? Says Sharma, “I think only those professionals opt for the IAS who are dissatisfied with their jobs. This can also lead to brain drain. So in a way it is a good means to retain them.

Of the 272 candidates called for the ongoing PCS interviews, 150 have been trained by Vinod Sharma. Unlike others, Sharma coaches the aspirants in his free time in his one-room class rented at Rs 4,000 per month and works on a no profit, no loss’ basis.