PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Feb 24: In order to motivate the civil services aspirants who are appearing in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination, DSP Vikas Chandra Srivastava focused on moving forward with hope as an option to get success in the career opportunities.
Hundreds of civil services aspirants from remote villages in Jharkhand and neighbouring Bihar are pinning hopes on a serving police officer who has doubled up as their guide and tutor.
Vikash Chandra Srivastava, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Jharkhand Police, has over 500 ‘students’ who interact with him online regularly, and another 30,000 ‘subscribers’ of ‘DSP ki Paathshala,’ the YouTube channel where he uploads tutorials.
During an exclusive interview with lagatar24.com at the Investigation Training School in Ranchi, Srivastava said that the aspirants should not lose hope and should continuously focus on getting the results. The hurdles in the JPSC examination may definitely degrade the morale of the students but one needs to focus on different opportunities.
“I have also cleared the examination in my 22nd attempt of giving many other civil service exams of different states. It was not easy for me as there was a lot of pressure from the family members and most importantly when relatives ask what you are doing,” Srivastava said.
“The free online class has come as a boon for the aspirants from remote villages who otherwise find it impossible to access expensive coaching centres located in the cities. I have a very keen interest in teaching the students and I have carried on the legacy of my father who was himself a teacher,” Srivastava added.
Srivastava, who is currently posted at the Investigation Training School in Ranchi, said he has been giving free coaching since his posting in Deoghar. Ha started guiding students through the Zoom App. As the number of aspirants increased during the lockdown, they requested him to give live classes on YouTube and thus ‘DSP ki Paathshala’ took birth.
“DSP ki Paathshala was launched in July 2021 and I am taking classes four days a week for one hour each for UPSC, Jharkhand civil services, Bihar civil services and JSSC CGL exams. There are four different telegram groups for each separate exam on which notes, current affairs updates, and important questions are posted to support the students,” Srivastava said.
On the question of how he is getting time to teach the students, he said, “After getting posted here at Investigation Training School, the work generally gets over at 6 in the evening and moreover my wife and son are also supporting me a lot in this. My son helps to convert the notes into pdfs which are posted on the groups after each class for the reference of the students.”
“My hundred students will be appearing for JPSC mains this time and since 2001 nearly 25,000 students have cleared different competitions. I can remember that Neha Srivastava, who was one of my students, has cleared UPSC and now she is an IFS officer,” Srivastava said.
In case students have any doubt, they message him in the group and receive a reply. Srivastava teaches using a smartboard, which was gifted by the management of Ambedkar Library in Deoghar, where he started his role as a tutor.
One of his students named Bharat Turi said the officer helped him dare to dream. “For students like us who cannot afford coaching classes but dare to dream of cracking civil services, Vikas Sir is like a divine being,” said Turi, son of a deceased daily wage labourer.
Another aspirant Preeti Kumari, who is from the Banka district of Bihar but stays with her sister in Deoghar to prepare for civil services, also regularly attends the classes. “If someone is attending them, I don’t think he or she would ever need to go to any other coaching,” said Preeti.
