Community and Counseling

In the heart of Srinagar, things are changing quietly.

The face of civil service preparation in Kashmir is witnessing a drastic shift and a number of academies and institutions are coming up to guide the youth in their pursuit of the civil services dream.

One such institution is the Exceptional IAS Academy.

However, it is different from other such institutions in the sense that their focus is on community engagement and helping in developing the human resource of Kashmir by providing facilities in Kashmir for which civil service aspirants had to visit New Delhi.

Founded by Muhammad Azharuddin Sofi and Saqlain Bhat, it has been guiding youth in Kashmir in chasing their dreams without leaving home.

Director Exceptional IAS Academy Muhammad Azharuddin Sofi says, “We used to dream of setting up an academy for preparing the youth from Kashmir for the civil services since 2015. We were driven by the realisation that everyone in Kashmir cannot opt for preparation of civil services by enrolling at any academy in New Delhi because accommodation and cost of living is out of reach for them. Besides this, the weather in Delhi is hostile for Kashmiris.”

Started at Parraypora, the hub of such institutions and academies, in Kashmir in June 2023, the academy has come a long way and finds a fast popularity among the aspiring civil servants here.

Having enrolled about 400 students currently, the academy is running a chain of programmes suiting different needs ranging from one-year graduate courses to two-year and three-year programmes for undergraduates.

Operations Head Exceptional IAS Academy, Saqlain Bhat says, “We are providing the service of preparing for civil services in a homely atmosphere. We provide facilities as good as any of the best civil service academies in New Delhi.”

Despite the immense potential among Kashmir’s youth, it has traditionally trailed way back in producing civil servants. While Shah Faisal’s Rank 1 in 2010 created ripples, for years thereafter, the total number of candidates selected remained relatively low. A resurgence in interest is, however, evident with 11 Kashmiris cracking the civil services in 2022 and another 8 last year.

“There is a lot of potential among the youth in Srinagar, but there is not much awareness amongst them about civil services,” Sofi says. “Parents in Srinagar do not take the civil services as a career for their children seriously. We don’t just have to make the youth aware about the civil services but also their parents, because parents are the major part of the support system that the youth need while preparing for the civil services.”

The differential treatment that is accorded to civil services in Srinagar from those offered in the rest of Kashmir is personally experienced by the founders of this academy.

Community support is one of the core philosophies of the academy. There are stories of people from far-flung areas bringing potential students to the academy, impelled solely by the urge to see their communities uplifted.

“A person from Bandipora brought his friend’s child, a fisherman’s son, to us. This kind of support is very necessary and this is lacking in urban centers like Srinagar,” Sofi says.

Other big challenges are misconceptions about bureaucracy and lack of vision among urban youth.

“We recently spoke to a parent who did not want his son to take the civil service as a path for his career as he believes all bureaucrats are corrupt. Changing such perceptions is as important as providing education,” Bhat says. “We visited a village near the Line of Control in Salambad area of Uri where the community came together to support an orphan’s dream of becoming a civil servant. In Srinagar, such collective support is hard to come across. This is something we need to cultivate. Similarly, there is a need for community ownership and encouragement.”

The academy does not just have an examination-oriented philosophy, but it works on holistic development that includes counseling, personality development, and even basic skills like reading newspapers from a civil service perspective.

“We constantly work on their grooming. Many candidates who come into our programme aren’t able to express themselves at the start, but we make them comfortable and realise that they wouldn’t be judged on their lack of public speaking during our programme,” Bhat says. “We had a student join us in eleventh grade who was grappling with depression due to social isolation.

It is through counseling and a conducive environment that he not only overcame his challenges but has been able to secure two government jobs while pursuing his civil service dream.”

This is not an exception. The academy has seen a surge in students from diverse walks of life, all with one goal in mind: to crack the civil services exams. Yet, the journey is not about individual success.

“We want to spread awareness about the civil services not only among the youth but even among the parents of the aspiring civil servants,” says Bhat. “Srinagar is full of potential, but lack of vision coupled with a lack of support irreparably dents progress.”

After appearing in JKAS prelims last year, Amara Sehra Qureshi of Srinagar says that she came to realise that self-study was not the way to crack these exams.

“The next morning, I joined the Exceptional IAS Academy because I realised the importance of guidance and a mentor,” she says, who did her Masters in Political Sciences from the Cluster University of Srinagar. “Preparing for the civil services here, I developed discipline of studying with a fixed timetable and that positive change helped me with my syllabus-completion goals.”

Amara, who is enrolled in a 1-year IAS coaching track at the academy says that the mentorship class made her understand the dynamics of the UPSC exams and how to go about it.

“The preparations for weekly exams, having weekly predetermined goals helps develop the discipline you need. The guidance of the mentors helps you understand what to study and what not to study,” she says. “The academy made me cautious and the process made me humble.”

One of the exceptional features about the Exceptional IAS Academy, is the 24x7 library, which has expanded from 60 to 170 seats within a year.

“Some candidates leave the library at 12 in the midnight or 3 am, and some study throughout the night. Some candidates study 14 to 18 hours in the library,” Sofi says.

The academy also believes highly in community involvement and mutual support.

Rouf-ul-Rafiq of Shangus Achabal in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district says that after graduating in Mathematics from Amar Singh College, he was in a dilemma about his career path.

“I found my real calling here,” he says. “I feel I am a completely transformed and improved person from what I was 10 months back.”

Rouf says that the change in his life was due to the support of the academy which offered all the facilities like a library, mentors, faculty, counsellor, and other infrastructural support at one place.

The academy also implements scholarship programmes and flexible fee structures so that meritorious candidates from all walks of life have an equal chance of receiving quality education.

“We open the scholarships two to three times a year and provide 100 percent scholarships to the deserving candidates,” Bhat says.

The impact of Exceptional IAS Academy extends beyond individual success stories. It’s about changing the narrative and perception of civil services in Kashmir.

“Our vision as an academy is that more and more civil service officers should come from Kashmir and help in the growth of society,” Sofi says.

“As an administrator, one can play a way better role. She or he can be instrumental in the growth of an entire district as a Deputy Commissioner. They can also play a role in policy making and changing the fortunes of a number of people,” Bhat says.

Their efforts are already starting to bear fruit. They have seen improvements not just in their students’ exam performances, but in their overall academic and personal growth.

“We have twin girls from Government Degree College Bemina. Their principal told us that she was amazed to see what we had done to them as they were changed students who were excelling and outdoing their peers in college,” Bhat says proudly.

Like the twin sister, Irtiza Mir from Pulwama’s saffron town Pampore, is also enrolled in a 2-year undergraduate track at the academy.

A student of Abdul Ahad Azad College, Irtiza decided to pursue her civil services dream after passing her 12th standard exam.

“At the academy, I developed my answer writing skills, improved my knowledge of current affairs,” she says.

Irtiza feels that while she prepares for the civil services at the academy, her improved knowledge and newly-learnt skills are also helping in her undergraduate course.

The Exceptional IAS Academy has also been working with the philosophy of addressing regional needs. Preparing students for exams or building future leaders who understand and can address the unique challenges of their homeland is not all; it is about providing world-class education at affordable prices right in the heart of Kashmir.

“There is nothing like the satisfaction you get on seeing someone qualify for the civil services after starting from scratch,” Bhat says.

Of course, it is this very satisfaction, aided by a deep inner urge to see Kashmir flourish, that has been driving Exceptional IAS Academy ahead in its mission to recast the civil service landscape of the region.

It is the youth, traditionally entering the prestigious professions of medicine and engineering, who now increasingly look up to that pinnacle of India’s administrative service in this transformed scenario.

Younis Yousuf Mir, who works as a mentor at the academy, says civil services preparations have evolved over time.

“A teacher or a faculty member teaches the class but a mentor stays with the aspirant till the exams and makes them exam-ready,” he says. “A mentor checks what level of preparation the aspirant has and also prepares them about the latest trends.”

Younis says that with a fresher they start with basics like how to start the preparations, what books to read.

“Later on, the focus shifts on how to score more in tests, how to write better answers, how to evolve, how much time to spend on studies, and how to have clear goals,” he says. “We also help them with their issues in particular subjects and how to stay motivated besides also working on a Plan B.”

It was through committed mentorship, community support, and a strong belief in the potential within the youth of Kashmir that Sofi and Bhat were engaged with focused exam preparation, but they are laying the basis for a time when such students will lead and inspire.