Bandipora IITian turns teacher for students of native village

At a time when coaching centers are charging huge amount of money from students to prepare them for competitive examinations, a 21-year-old IIT student along with his friends from Nowpora village in Bandipora has volunteered to help aspirants in their last minute preparations.
It was never easy for Suhail Hassan to get admission into IIT Kharagpur. But today when he is in his final year of graduation, Suhail has returned home just to help aspiring students fulfil their dreams.
Suhail, who is on a vacation, has opened an academy in Bandipora along with his friends where they provide free coaching and career guidance to needy students.
“In Kashmir, there is lack of exposure and professional coaching. After completing school education from my native village I went out of the state for coaching,” said Suhail, who is pursuing a degree course in Metrological and Material Engineering.
Inspired by his elder brother, who has now settled in the United States, Suhail feels the coaching centers in Kashmir are not at par with the coaching institutes in other parts of India.
“People in Kashmir don’t have much idea about IITs and other top institutions. The infrastructure and professional coaching is lacking. The aim of opening an academy with the help of my friends is to just guide students so that they can look for the best possible opportunities. We are not doing it from a business perspective, we are already settled in our lives and want to help aspirants who don’t have avenues to fulfil their dreams,” said Suhail.
“I visited almost all the tuition centers in my area and tried to address students’ queries regarding the right material and coaching for exams. I also went to a coaching centre started by the government under the Chief Minister’s free coaching initiative and gave a guest lecture there,” he said.
Suhail said the group was planning to reach out to the far flung areas of Bandipora where board examination results were very poor.
“We are having separate plans for talented students. We will train them for top exams. There are far flung villages in Bandipora where even the board results were very poor, equal to zero percent, we want to help those students as well,” he added.
Suhail further said as all the students in the village could not afford to go outside the state for coaching, he along with his friends, who are already studying in different colleges across the country, send reading material.
“I will visit this place again in April and stay for two months. I will try to give my best in those two months. We are many people in the group and we also encourage others who want to volunteer in helping our initiative,” said Suhail, who is optimistic of bringing a change.
Suhail frequently interacts with students and provide them vital tips for upcoming exams.
“Yesterday, I met 35 students who are preparing for competitive exams and we discussed about last minute preparations. I think this is the best way to help students of my village. They need guidance, they all want to excel,” he said.