Narayana Murthy Criticizes Coaching Classes Amid Kota Crisis:

Amid the rising suicide cases among students in Kota, the coaching capital of the nation, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy remarked that he does not believe in coaching classes.

On September 9, he attended an event to unveil the 13th edition of Paul Hewitt's bestselling book, Conceptual Physics in Bengaluru. After the book launch, when asked for his opinion on the recurrent suicide cases among students in Kota, Rajasthan, and whether coaching institutes are a sure-shot way to get admission to IITs and NITs, Murthy commented that "Coaching classes are the wrong way to help children pass examinations".

Criticizing the Indian focus on rote learning, he added that coaching classes limit a student's critical thinking and the ability to solve real-world problems.

Murthy on the purpose of education

The Infosys founder is well known for sharing his wisdom. Recently, he shared his valuable insights on the purpose of education while discussing the Kota crisis. He accentuated that the real purpose of education should be "learning to learn."

"The importance of education is, first, to observe. Second, to analyze why this difference is coming out. The third is to offer a hypothesis. And finally, that hypothesis is observed by many people… and then verified if that thing is fine."

Also, very recently when Narayana Murthy was asked by a 12-year-old at the Teach for India Leaders Week how he could become like the Infosys co-founder. Narayana Murthy said, "I don't want you to become like me. I want you to become better than me for the greater good of the nation." 

He further added, "My father taught me to manage time through a timetable, which played a crucial role in my securing fourth rank in the state SSLC exam."

The Indian billionaire and a role model for thousands of Indian students, Murthy further elaborated that the only students who require them are those who fail to pay proper attention to their teachers in the classroom.

The booming industry of coaching business

In India, the coaching business is estimated at over Rs 58,000 crore a year, growing around 19-20 percent annually. The booming industry is expected to hit $2 billion by next year, growing at over 17 percent CAGR through this decade.