Vani Jha
Several FIITJEE centers suddenly shut down in Delhi-NCR, and scores of teachers left their jobs citing non-payment of their salaries for several months, a section of the students and their parents claimed. Police have lodged FIRs against two centers of the institute that provides competitive exam coaching for engineering aspirants in Noida and Ghaziabad.
According to the website of FIITJEE, it operates 73 centers in the country. An email sent to FIITJEE seeking comment remained unanswered at the time of filing this story. The sudden closure of FIITJEE centers has left many students and their parents, who have paid fees running into lakhs of rupees, in the lurch.
Sandhya Singh, whose son was a student of FIITJEE’s Laxmi Nagar centre, said that her family paid Rs 5.4 lakh for their son’s two-year course. “My son was preparing for the engineering entrance exam at FIITJEE’s east Delhi centre in Laxmi Nagar. The centre has been closed for a week without notice. ”
We paid Rs 5.4 lakh in advance for the two-year course because they offered us a discount for paying in fewer instalments. Now the centre head’s phone is switched off and no one else is answering our calls, said Singh.
FIITJEE teachers have resigned
She said she contacted her son’s teachers and found out that many of them had resigned due to non-payment of salaries and joined another well-known coaching institute. The affected parents have created a WhatsApp group to keep abreast with the latest developments, she said. Another parent has lodged a police complaint in connection with the closure of the Laxmi Nagar FIITJEE centre.
“I paid Rs 3.40 lakh for a four-year course for my child, who is in class 11. The centre closed abruptly. A few days ago, my son mentioned that many teachers had left and joined another coaching institute. At first, we didn’t think much of it but realised later that the centre may have closed because of the lack of staff,” said the parent who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We are now being approached by the coaching institute that the teachers have joined and we may have to consider it as there’s no other option. Our child’s future is at stake,” the parent said. A former teacher at FIITJEE alleged that he had resigned due to irregular payment of salaries. “In the past year, we receive salaries intermittently. Five months’ salaries are still pending. We requested the centre head to clear the dues but he was clueless as there was no clarity from the top management,” he said.
He denied charges that the other coaching institute was poaching FIITJEE’s faculty members, saying that the institute had only hired those teachers who had left in large numbers due to non-payment of salaries. In mounting trouble for FIITJEE, FIRs have been registered against its centres in Ghaziabad and Noida.
FIITJEE Ghaziabad (Delhi-NCR) centre ‘illegal’
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida, Ram Badan Singh told reporters that a case of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust has been registered against the FIITJEE centre in Sector 62. “A complaint was received at Sector 58 police station regarding the FIITJEE centre in Sector 62, Noida, which was found closed when students reached there for their classes on Wednesday. “The entire staff was absent.
Based on that, a case of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust has been registered, and we are investigating the matter, Singh said. The second FIR was filed against officials of the FIITJEE centre in the Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad. As per the FIR, the coaching centre was functioning “illegally”.
Several complainants have said they paid advance fees ranging from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to the coaching centre for their children’s coaching, the FIR said. “It has been observed that teachers have slowly started leaving the institution and the staff members, including teachers, have not been paid their salaries. Moreover, classes for the students have not been held for several days which has resulted in academic loss for the students,” it said.
Upon a review of records, it has been found that no registered coaching center exists in the name of FIITJEE Limited, D-6 and 7 RDC, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad. This would clearly indicate the fact that this coaching center was operating “illegally” without prior registration, which is directly violative of the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Coaching Regulation Act, the FIR stated.
Conclusion
The sudden withdrawal of FIITJEE centers from Delhi-NCR has thrown students, parents, and teachers into a sea of academic and financial distress. FIRs would indicate accusations of illegal activities along with a situation that demands more stringent regulations and transparency for the coaching industry. Parents face tough decisions about their children’s future while former employees spot financial mismanagement. This incident serves as a wake-up call for students and parents to carefully evaluate coaching institutes before committing their trust and finances.