‘Disgraceful’, ‘child traffickers’: FIITJEE draws flak for ad shaming ex-student, using suicide for comparison

NEW DELHI : Coaching institute FIITJEE has drawn flak over its advertisement shaming a girl student for leaving the institute to join another, using derogatory terms such as ‘evil’ for other institute, and using suicide rates for comparison. The deputy commissioner of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) brought attention to a newspaper ad by the institute and called it a ‘new low’ in advertisements.

The ad shared by the IRS officer shows FIITJEE using a picture of the girl student who enrolled into the institute’s ‘Long Term Classroom Program’ for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main and JEE Advanced coaching. The institute shared the journey of the student, right from the date of admission test in December 2020 to completion of 80% of course. According to FIITJEE, the programme was almost over when her parents were ‘lured by this evil institute’. Her performance degraded as she joined the ‘evil’ coaching centre and could have got 100 NTA score, had she stayed with FIITJEE, it said.

“She was a top performer at FIITJEE Delhi-NCR and has now performed behind many FIITJEE students. With the pedigree of FIITJEE, she would have achieved NTA score 99.99 even by her self-study. So, the contribution of the EVIL institute in her performance is -ve. Had she remained with FIITJEE, she could have achieved a clear 100 NTA score,” FIITJEE ad read.

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Kota suicide reference

The ad didn’t stop here and went on to compare the number of centres having students with 99.9 NTA score and above with the coaching centre Vidya Mandir Classes (VMC) and "the evil institute from Kota (now in Delhi) with history of suicides".

The problem with the advertisement, as pointed out by the income tax officer, is that the coaching institute is using the performance of a student to claim its superiority over other institutes and is bringing up the national issue of student suicide for competition. “We talk about parents putting pressure on kids for IIT JEE, but what about this manner of advertising where you shame a student for not performing? And claiming superiority by claiming that she would have performed had she been in your institute?,” said officer Katyayani Sanjay Bhatia while sharing the image of the ad in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“They are claiming their superiority by talking about the institute with a 'history of suicides'. Shameful. Suicides in Kota are an issue that concerns us all above petty competition, but... this is cheap,” the officer added.

‘Disgraceful’ Ad: Rage online

The ad took social media by storm and many people condemned the coaching institute for its manner of advertising. The ad received heavy criticism with comments such as ‘disgraceful’, ‘dark’ and ‘rubbish’, while FIITJEE was labelled ‘child traffickers’ and ‘exploitative’. Some also turned to union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo demanding action against the institute.

An X user said, “fiitjee shaming a student for enrolling in another institute via newspaper ad. fiitjee comparing suicide rates of institutes on newspaper ad. EduMinOfIndia can someone do their job or have they purchased immunity through electoral bonds as well?”

“Kanoongo Priyank ji! Is this ok for a exploitative education institute like fiitjee to prey upon children like this? How can they victimize a child for not joining their institute?,” said another user tagging the NCPCR chairperson. “this is the type of dark advertisement fiitjee are doing all around India if anything happens to any fiitjee student then it should be accounted as murder by them and not suicide..” another user said.

A person compared the coaching institute with human traffickers. “These individuals are nothing short of child traffickers. Just as traffickers commodify children, treating them as mere goods, these individuals run their operations with the same dehumanizing mindset, viewing children as products to be bought and sold," their post read.

Also read Kota Suicides: ‘Students who come for JEE, NEET preparation become extremely unempathetic’

Some people also suggested punishment for the institute while others asked how such an ad could get its way to the newspaper. An X user said that the goal of these coaching institutes is to make money and instead of imposing regulations, the government has provided them with another exam, Common University Entrance Test (CUET) to 'fill their coffers'.

Recommending punishment for the institute for causing trauma to the child, another user wrote, “Hope the parents sue. Judge should impose a 10 crore fine, post tax, payable to the child in a trust fund for her. God knows she’s going to need it for the trauma caused. A daily 1 page apology ad in all newspapers in every state for a continuous period of 1 month too.”

Two persons wondered how the newspaper published such an ad. “Seriously! This would have been approved after due diligence by the 'bright minds'; and no ethical responsibility of the newspaper or newspapers that carried the advertisement?," one of them said while the other wrote, “It's such rubbish promoted by coaching institutes like fiitjee that leads to student suicides. Don't newspapers have a responsibility to refuse such ads? What about the ad agency - any ethics at all? Are authorities sleeping? And we outrage when a student dies by suicide.”