DR A.R. Khan is an accomplished educationist, academic, scholar, thinker and motivator. His career as an educationist spans over three decades, during which he has taught in India’s premier institutions such as the University of Delhi and the Delhi School of Economics. The top 10 candidates selected in the Civil Services 2018 were coached at the Khan Study Group. KSG has demystified the UPSC examination under the expertise of Dr Khan and has now become the most trusted coaching institute for thousands of IAS aspirants.
How do you feel about this unprecedented success?
Our success is the result of the trust reposed by students in KSG. This is a humbling experience and at the same time increases our responsibility to work harder and meet the increased expectations. Last year, every second UPSC candidate selected was from KSG, and this year more than 400 KSG students have figured in the final list of 759 selected candidates. We have seven centres across six cities in India. By taking KSG to various cities, we have created a condition where UPSC aspirants can prepare for the examination under our guidance while staying in their hometowns.
What was the motivation behind starting KSG?
I have been a teacher throughout my professional life. As in studying, in teaching, too, I believe in the “transactional approach”. At KSG I get the independence to apply those tools, techniques and methodologies of learning which I have developed over the years and are proven to bring results. As a faculty at KSG, I also get an opportunity to transfer these learning methodologies to young faculty members.
What is the basic methodology that you apply in your teaching at KSG?
At KSG, we follow a fundamental principle of providing equal opportunity to every candidate who enrols with us. From our students we expect passion, dedication and hard work. We believe that our student must be passionate to become an IAS officer. Dedication means that the student is ready to make sacrifices. Hard work makes the IAS aspirants put in their best efforts. In a sense, we take care of all externalities such as teaching, study material and related guidance and leave the students to take charge of their internalities.
This approach has borne fruit for us and the aspirants alike. We, however, start from the basics.
KSG has announced a two-year course for college students. Could you tell us more about it?
Our vision is to focus on enabling students to crack the UPSC examination in their early attempts and become civil servants at a younger age. This idea was formulated through the analysis of some of our past students who were enrolled in our nine-month Foundation Course during their college days and became toppers. We thought of replicating such success stories, and towards this end we have devised a new programme, KSG Advanced Foundation Course, which will run for two years. Through this course, we aim to provide coaching in such a manner that by the time the students complete their graduation, they are well equipped to write the Civil Services Examination.
What drives you in your mission?
Students come to us with the hope of becoming an IAS officer. We leave no stone unturned to convert that hope into reality. This is what drives me in my mission. Civil services preparation is a long journey and requires a lot of patience. Patience is the other name of a teacher. I feel fortunate to be a teacher.
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