Meesho developer on Kota factory: 'If you go to Kota, you will become a machine'
coaching hub of India. Most students aspiring to get into IITs head there to prepare for the toughest exams like JEE. However, Rajendra Choudhary, who developed the Meesho online shopping platform and studied in Kota earlier, warns that students need to be mentally and emotionally strong to survive in the city.
«If you go to Kota, you will become like a machine. Most of the time will be spent studying and giving exams. It is important to be mentally and emotionally strong to survive two years in that city,» says Rajendra.
Rajendra, who hails from Balapura in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, went to Kota to study for engineering entrance exams after completing 11th grade.
During his days in Kota, Rajendra says they were forced to memorize lessons to crack the IIT-JEE. However, he could not crack the entrance exam after 12th grade. He later managed to get into a college in Noida. During his final year at college, he faced major problems during placements as he was not fluent in English, and top IT recruiters rejected him for that reason. However, Rajendra decided to focus on startups as they were not as concerned about his lack of fluency in English.
Kota Woes
As per reports, about 2.5 lakh students go to Kota every year to prepare for entrance exams like NEET and IIT-JEE. However, only a fraction of them crack the entrance exam, which is dubbed one of the toughest in the world. According to a report, in 2023, out of the 180,372 candidates who took the exam, just 43,773 candidates qualified.
