FIITJEE crisis: Centre closures, unpaid salaries, and legal troubles leave students and parents stranded Premium

FIITJEE faces multiple cases, teacher resignations, and financial issues, leaving parents and staff uncertain about its future.

In less than five days this month, two cases – one at Chandigarh and another at Chennai – have been registered against FIITJEE’s management, adding to at least four existing cases on the coaching giant.  On May 5, the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police, which registered a case in March for criminal breach of trust, cheating, conspiracy and common intention, questioned three FIITJEE officials in connection with the case. 

In centres where parents have filed complaints, the FIITJEE management is resorting to temporary fixes—such as setting up online classes—to placate them. However, with a mass resignation of teachers from the online setup as well, FIITJEE’s future remains increasingly uncertain.

In February 2024, when Monika Agarwal enrolled her Class 11 studying son at a FIITJEE centre in Ghaziabad, the centre had around 20 teachers and about 800 students. She had paid ₹3.45 lakh for a two-year programme – something the family could afford only after taking a loan. “We believed their reputation and now, we have been cheated,” said Monika, adding that the management should reimburse more than what was paid because the closure of the centre has disturbed her son.

A few months after Monika’s son joined the centre, things started taking a downward turn. Teachers kept resigning every month, and the new ones took time to settle down and sync with students’ level.

Gowri Bhadauria, who appeared for the IIT entrance exam this year and missed the cutoff by just 0.51 percentile, attributes her setback to FIITJEE’s problems. She had joined the Gwalior centre two years ago, paying ₹3 lakh for two years. Initially, she found the centre promising — someone who had never liked Math, she began to enjoy the subject for the first time, thanks to the quality of teaching at FIITJEE. 

But over the preceding months, the quality declined, she says. For most part of the last year, the centre was open only in name, as just two rooms had students, Gowri said.  “There was no proper mentoring, no discussions and no questions asked. In the past year, as teachers kept resigning, we cooped up in one room at the centre and prepared for the exams ourselves,” Gowri said.  “Choosing FIITJEE has been the biggest mistake of my life,” Gowri sighed. 

Chennai’s Bharadwaj Narayanan, who admitted his son to the Velachery centre last year, paid ₹2.7 lakh for the two-year programme. “Coaching used to be great and the management would follow up if students missed any class,” he said. But since the beginning of this year, as the centre had shut down and FIITJEE teachers were joining Aakash Institute, parents realised that the crisis that had started in North India had now reached the South as well. “FIITJEE had tied up with Aakash and asked our children to attend online classes, saying the same teachers would be taking them. But now, even those teachers are resigning from Aakash too,” Bharadwaj said.