Why IITs, IIMs are out of reach for middle class

The lack of resources makes coaching for institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and medical colleges unaffordable for a majority of Indian middle class households, who then encourage their wards to enter fields that require lesser counselling fee, says an Assocham study.

"Most Indian middle class families cannot even afford up to Rs 3 lakh per annum coaching fee even if their children have been rated above average by their respective schools with potential to qualify for these professional courses," industry body Assocham said in a survey.

Such parents, then, encourage their children to enter fields like banking, railways, insurance and state level civil services, for which career counselling is less expensive compared to that for top technology and management institutions.

The chamber has conducted the survey on about 4,000 families in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Jabalpur, Madras and Hyderabad.

"After IITs/IIMs, coaching institutions grooming aspirants for civil services, banking, life insurance, chartered accountant and company secretaryship are found to have the second best ranking in enrolling candidates," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

About 6-8 lakh students enroll into institutes providing coaching for IITs, IIMs and medical colleges every year, it said.