The moment a student thinks of IAS preparation, he starts pondering about IAS Coaching Institute. He is gripped by various questions and foremost of them is – Is IAS coaching compulsory to get selection in civil services? The answer is unmistakably NO! But such a short answer may make you more confused. If IAS coaching is not necessary, then why most of the successful candidates refer to IAS coaching centres as a stepping stone in their making. Obviously, they play a major role in success in civil services examination. They polish the candidates and infuse administrative quality in them.

IAS coaching is not like college studies; here students should be educated in such a pattern that they could develop an ability to take a competitive edge over their contenders. For every candidate UPSC has prescribed same syllabus, more or so every IAS aspirant studies same books… then why does one get selected and other fails. ‘YES’ this is the basic difference between ‘academic’ and ‘competitive’ studies. In academic studies difference in few numbers does not matter because ‘Grade’ can remain the same, but in competition – just one number may decide your ‘fate’ – either selection or rejection (failure).

Now, the important point is that ‘What role does IAS Coaching Institutes’ play in success in civil services exam and ‘how to choose good IAS Coaching Centre’. Let us discuss on these aspects keeping in mind various perspectives.

There is no doubt that IAS Coaching Institutes plays an effective role in moulding the students according to UPSC exam’s demand. But remember, there is no short cut for success, especially in IAS preparation. Nonetheless, it should neither be a ‘five year plan’ i.e. exhaustively extended period of preparation. Role of IAS coaching centres becomes prominent at this juncture, because most of the students at their initial stage of IAS preparation are novice; they have superficial knowledge about the intricacies of preparation. Collecting ‘know-how’ of civil services at this stage may be a futile attempt or wastage of time. In the same way, amassing ‘IAS study material’ on the basis of hearsay is another blunder.

By joining a good IAS Coaching Institute, you do not only save your precious time, but also your IAS preparation moves towards right direction. The experienced teachers lead you to target-oriented preparation. These highly qualified teachers have long years of teaching experience, most of them are professors or lecturers in some universities or colleges. Not to mention, lecturers or teachers have firsthand experience of Civil Services Exam. They have valuable exposure to tools, techniques and teaching methods.

A good IAS Coaching Institute is not just a platform to deliver lectures to their students, instead, it develops all necessary qualities required to be an IAS officer. The classrooms consist of not just four walls, but they are practically the laboratories where young minds are scientifically trained to acquire knowledge and techniques to succeed in the civil services exam. The lectures are interactive, never one way information dispersion. The topics under the prescribed syllabus are thoroughly covered by the teachers. The lectures are further supplemented by extra study-materials. Every effort is made to cover all aspects of a given topic which may be important for the exam – directly or indirectly.

IAS Coaching Centres’ expert teachers know it very well that IAS exam is not mere test of knowledge and information. In fact, it aims at evaluating a candidate’s originality of thinking and his point of view on a topic are therefore decisive in his success or failure in IAS exam. In order to develop the student’s critical and analytical abilities, teachers encourage them to engage in group discussions and critical analysis of a given topic. They monitor the whole discussion and at the end provide immediate feedback to each and every student. This session does not only enrich knowledge but also helps in personality development.

Classroom subjective written tests conducted by IAS Coaching Institutes creates competitive atmosphere. Teachers do not only evaluate every student’s ‘answer sheet’ but also provides comment on their performance – guidelines for their improvement as well as strength and weakness of their answers. In short, a good IAS coaching centre has an advance mechanism which enables them to provide a holistic approach towards preparation of IAS exam, and make their students successful.

Deciding to join an IAS Coaching Institute requires some research and information gathering session. In fact, nobody has too much time or resources to collect minute details of each and every IAS coaching centres, this is the reason I am trying to provide you some useful important tips which may help you in your coaching selection:

1. The coaching centre should be ‘existing’ since a long period (years). Reason: Only a quality giving coaching institute can stand for 8 to 10 years or more.
2. Gather information about their past performance in IAS exam i.e. success results.

3. If possible, background of teachers teaching in that coaching institute.

4. If possible, meet some students already enrolled in that IAS coaching institute.

5. Updated Library Facilities. Reason: After a topic has been taught, the student must undertake self-study. And, a library is quite essential in students’ preparation for civil services exam.

6. Accommodation Facilities. Reason: Most of the IAS Coaching students are outstation candidates. The Academy should have dedicated staff-members for care-taking and overseeing hygiene and comfort of students in these accommodations.

The above-mentioned tips may help you to choose quality IAS Coaching Institute. Now warm-up yourself to join India’s most prestigious services i.e. Indian Administrative Services.

Well begun is half done…!