FIITJEE draws flak for ad shaming ex-student: There has been criticism of FIITJEE’s advertisement for shaming a girl student for leaving to join another institute, using derogatory terms such as ‘evil’ to describe other institutes, and using suicide rates as a comparison. Indian Revenue Service (IRS) deputy commissioner called the institute’s newspaper advertisement a ‘new low’ in advertising.
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 JEE Main and JEE Advanced coaching. FIITJEE shared the journey of the student, from the time of her admission test in December 2020 to the time she completed 80% of the course. When the institute lured her parents, the programme was almost over, according to FIITJEE. As she joined the ‘evil’ coaching centre, her performance deteriorated, and she would have received a 100 NTA score if she had stayed with FIITJEE.
“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.
‘Disgraceful’, ‘child traffickers’: FIITJEE draws flak for ad shaming ex-student, using suicide for comparison
The ad went on to compare the number of centers with 99.9 NTA scores and above with Vidya Mandir Classes (VMC) and an evil institute from Kota (now in Delhi) with a 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 their children for IIT JEE, but what about advertising in which you shame a student for not passing? While sharing the image of the ad on X (formerly Twitter), officer Katyayani Sanjay Bhatia claimed superiority by claiming that she would have performed if she had been in your institute.
“They are claiming about 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 claiming in this manner is cheap,” the officer added.
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As a result of the ad, many people condemned the coaching institute for its advertising methods. FIITJEE was called ‘child traffickers’, ‘exploitative’, ‘disgraceful’, ‘dark’, and ‘rubbish’, while the ad was labelled as ‘disgraceful’, ‘dark’, and ‘rubbish’. The institute was also condemned by some who turned to union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo.
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..” a user commented in a post.
It was also suggested that the institute be punished, while others asked how such an advertisement could appear in the newspaper.
“Disgraceful Advt. !! But these institutes are thorough professionals and minting money is sole motive as in other fields. Some regulations needs to be imposed by authorities. But, instead of that govt. provided them #CUET to fill their coffers further, in Delhi”
“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.”
“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.”
“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?”
“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.”
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