>Yes, some families from Bihar are able to muster up the amount
Not "some". It is literally lakhs of families every year. And if you look at the data of total number of JEE candidates from Bihar, that is actually a very significant percentage.
Even if you believe that coaching is not accessible to the average bright motivated Bihari student, the very fact that so many people from the poorest, most backward part of the country look at this exam as an instrument to better their lives should tell you something.
> Not "some". It is literally lakhs of families every year. And if you look at the data of total number of JEE candidates from Bihar, that is actually a very significant percentage.
Across all the coaching centres in Kota, you have about ~ 150K students annually, so about 1.5 lakhs in total from all states. Even if the overwhelming majority were Bihari, it doesn't generalize. That's tells us more about the network effect operating in Bihar rather than something about dedicated students in general. That's a lot of kids for a tiny town like Kota, but a drop in the ocean when dealing with the scale of the JEE.
> the very fact that so many people from the poorest, most backward part of the country look at this exam as an instrument to better their lives should tell you something.
Yes, that the exam needs reform. The fact that so many students who 'succeed' at the exams benefited from enrolling in coaching classes suggests that the exam needs to be reformulated to eliminate that variable. It's not the only thing in the education system that needs reform, but it is one among many. If as you suggest serious students benefit from the community of other like minded kids, then self organizing study groups can happen and still save 25K/month.
According to me, the goal of the JEE is to identify ~ 10K kids with the right combination of aptitude & dedication, in a manner that's not blind to their wide ranging social & economic backgrounds. Attending a coaching centre is a signal for their family's desire, but I think we can find much better signals for aptitude & dedication.
> the very fact that so many people from the poorest, most backward part of the country
You keep repeating this misdirection everywhere. Students studying in Kota from the poorest and most backward states are not themselves from poor and backward families. India has tremendous wealth inequality as does Bihar. If they were, they wouldn't be able to afford 2 years of coaching and lodging in Kota.
Not "some". It is literally lakhs of families every year. And if you look at the data of total number of JEE candidates from Bihar, that is actually a very significant percentage.
Even if you believe that coaching is not accessible to the average bright motivated Bihari student, the very fact that so many people from the poorest, most backward part of the country look at this exam as an instrument to better their lives should tell you something.