FIITJEE blames managing partners for shutdown, warns legal action against poaching of staff

NEW DELHI: Amid the closure of several FIITJEE centres across Delhi-NCR, the institute on Saturday claimed the shutdown was the result of "mismanagement and desertion" by managing partners, and announced plans to pursue legal action against its competitors for alleged poaching of its faculty. On Friday, students and parents said several FIITJEE centres had unexpectedly shut down across Delhi-NCR and many teachers resigned, allegedly due to non-payment of salaries for months.

According to FIITJEE's website, it runs 73 centres across the country, providing coaching for competitive exams to engineering aspirants. The institute said in a statement, "FIITJEE has not closed any centre as part of its own decision. Overnight desertion of the centre by the centre managing partner, along with the entire team, is the only reason for this force majeure type of condition." "The present turmoil in the institution is temporary. Company officials are working to resume operations at all places within a reasonable time," it added.

FIITJEE denied allegations that many teachers left because of non-payment of salaries for months and attributed the situation to "a criminal conspiracy hatched by people with vested interests". "Our legal team is taking appropriate action against the malicious prosecutions lodged against us," it said. The institute alleged that it was a "victim of exploitation" by managing partners, which worsened its financial situation. "Owing to mismanagement and exploitation by managing partners, FIITJEE's financial situation worsened in January 2024. The group CFO (Chief Financial Officer) forecast that after six months, the company might run into an operational cash crunch," it said.

FIITJEE coaching centres shut

Highlighting the steps taken to address the situation, FIITJEE said, "In February 2024, the company questioned the core group as well as all managing partners and told them to optimise the excess manpower, improve work culture, and clearly outline the strategy for bouncing back from the situation." "Most of the managing partners did not take any action. In fact, even this situation was exploited by some managing partners to gain unfair advantage," it added. The institute also accused its competitors of engaging in unfair practices. "We are also going to take strict legal action against the unfair trade practices adopted by our competitors before civil and criminal courts," it said.

Amid allegations about a competitor institute's poaching of FIITJEE's teachers, some faculty members said they left because of non-payment of salaries. The institute also urged the students not to fall for "misleading tactics" and offered an audit of its finances. "FIITJEE has a very robust system that produces results. Our results are the envy of every other coaching institute. Consistency in FIITJEE results has frustrated all our competitors. We urge every student to stay confident and not fall for any misleading tactics," it said. "You may also depute a chartered accountant to look into the affairs of any centre and we are confident that we will not only emerge innocent, but you will also realise that we too are a victim along with students and parents," FIITJEE added. The institute said the situation was temporary and that efforts were being made to stabilise operations. It assured the students and their parents that studies would continue without disruption.