This Jharkhand DSP Provides Free Coaching To Poor Students, Helps Them Crack Competitive Exams

In a noble initiative, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Jharkhand runs a free online 'pathshala' that provides coaching to hundreds of marginalised youth preparing for many competitive examinations.

Vikas Chandra Srivastava's initiative has come as a ray of hope in the lives of countless students from Jharkhand and adjoining Bihar. Over 60 students studying in the DSP-run school have qualified for several examinations conducted by the Public Service Commissions of Jharkhand and Bihar, respectively.

In addition, more than 100 students have passed the police, SSC, and Sergeant entrance examinations, including others.

In the recently held Jharkhand Public Service Commission's (JPSC) examination for the 7th to 10th edition, 32 out of the 252 candidates who successfully cleared the final round had studied in 'DSP ki Pathshala' run by Srivastava.

Felicitated By Jharkhand Education Minister

Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto also felicitated the DSP by inviting him to his residence on Sunday, July 3.

Hailing from Hazaribagh, Srivastava became a DSP in the state police after he cleared the JPSC third batch examination in 2012. He used to teach history and general knowledge to students while preparing for his own competitive exams. The year he qualified for the State Civil Services examination, six other candidates he taught also cleared the IAS exam successfully, News18 reported.

Even after being appointed DSP, he did not stop teaching others. During his posting in Ranchi and Deoghar, he visited the library and sometimes went to a school or college to teach students.

While he was posted as DSP in Deoghar for over two years, he used to regularly teach students preparing for competitive exams daily at the Ambedkar Library located nearby his residence. Similarly, in Ranchi, as soon as he got some spare time, he took classes in a tribal hostel and sometimes in the Central library of Ranchi University.

He said that even when visiting a village for inspection, he would try to take some time to reach out to students and guide them for future preparation.

'DSP Ki Pathshala'

The 47-year-old started taking online classes on the 'Zoom' app when physical classes had come to a standstill during the COVID-induced lockdowns. Hundreds of students joined his courses during the pandemic.

In July 2021, he created a YouTube channel named 'DSP Ki Pathshala'. On this platform, he would conduct live classes four to five days weekly in which nearly 600 students directly connected to him and studied.

Later, he would record these online classes on YouTube so the students could use them at their convenience. Currently, his YouTube channel has more than 47,000 subscribers. Moreover, he has formed groups on Telegram, through which around 5,000 students are directly connected to him. He also provides study notes and tips to the students through these online social media groups.

Presently, Srivastava is posted at the Investigation Training School of Ranchi police. After completing his duty as a police officer, he gets some time to teach students every night. This time he conducted online classes to prepare students for the JPSC Civil Services P.T, Mains and Interview round and organised a physical teaching session for 10 days to prepare them for the JPSC Civil Services interview round.

The outcome of this teaching exercise was that during the final round of the examination, over 10 per cent of the successful students were those who had taken guidance from 'DSP ki Pathshala'.

Before this, in the JPSC 6th Batch examination, Administrative Services Cadre first topper Suman Gupta and second topper Ashok Bharti had prepared under Srivastava's guidance. In this batch, 12 candidates studying in his free coaching class successfully qualified for the competitive examination. Similarly, he taught five candidates selected for DSP in the fifth batch exams.

So far, Srivastava said, 16 of his students have been selected for DSP and 25 for Administrative Services and other cadres. In 2012, 62 of his candidates were successful in the reinstatement examination for Inspector and Sergeant posts.

Srivastava has been personally helping the poor and marginalised students. Two years ago, a student from Madhupur qualified for NIT, but he couldn't pay the fees for his admission. At that time, the DSP had provided financial assistance of ₹40,000 from his own salary. Many students have been provided books and study material.

He considers his late father and teacher Avinash Chandra Srivastava as his role model. "I learnt from my father that whatever we earn, including knowledge, by living in the society, we do not have a personal right over it. Every one of us must try to give back something to society according to our capability. The DSP's job is my source of livelihood while education is my religion," he said.

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