'They know fully well that 99% will never make it': Netizens blame coaching centres for giving false hopes to UPSC aspirants
He said that the so-called mentors are just salesmen who peddle dreams, mint money, and feed off the insecurities of youth.
- Sep 10, 2025,
- Updated Sep 10, 2025 1:31 PM IST
A social media user took to X (formerly Twitter) to expose the reality that is often cloaked under the glamour of the UPSC coaching industry in India. The user called the industry shinier versions of MLM scamsters, while accusing the 'gurus and mentors' and coaching centres of giving false hopes to UPSC aspirants.
He said that the so-called mentors are just salesmen who peddle dreams, mint money, and feed off the insecurities of youth.
"They know fully well that 99% of students will never make it, yet they'll never say it honestly. Instead of guiding weak students towards alternate careers, they romanticise endless attempts, drops, and 'the struggle' as if wasting your prime years in a dingy classroom is some heroic sacrifice," the user wrote.
He added that these gurus tend to glamourise depression, poverty and sacrifice of students like badges of honour while building multi-storey campuses and sprawling coaching empires for themselves. "The more students break, the richer they get. Their “motivational talks” are nothing but trap speeches designed to keep you hooked in the cycle of hope, failure, and re-enrolment."
He further said that these gurus and coaching centres are not producing the nation's future bureaucrats as they claim but many 30+ year-olds with no career, no stability, no savings, and just a CV ruined by multiple UPSC attempts.
Here's what netizens said
The post left social media users divided, as some users agreed with the user's take. Others, however, said that aspirants were equally responsible for their situation.
"Absolutely. They also pitch like network marketing gurus. The 12th Fail movie has further romanticised the multiple attempt theory! UPSC preparation is an escape route for the unemployed elite family kids?" a user wrote.
"Aspirants are also equally responsible. When they even know the success rate is 0.1% in the exam, why don't they drop after a few attempts instead of giving exams in a continuous loop till the last attempt without upskilling in all these years of preparation? You're supposed to be mature enough to know what's right and wrong. They even take failure as an ego-hurt thing," a second user commented.
"More responsible than the coaching owners are the parents who turn their children into machines to fulfill their dreams and ambitions. Coaching institutes have sprung up to exploit the aspirations of such people whose sole aim is to earn money," a third user wrote.
"UPSC coaching is no longer a ‘temple of knowledge’ but a business of fear and false dreams. Everyone knows 99% won’t make it, yet they’re sold fake hopes and the ‘romance of struggle,’ fueling a multi-crore industry. This isn’t education-it’s just the shiniest MLM scheme," a fourth user said.
Reality behind the claims
As per the data published by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the pass percentage for CSE in 2024 is around 0.17%.
A total of 9,92,599 candidates applied for the exam, with 5,83,213 appearing. 14,627 qualified for the Written (Main) Exam in September 2024, and 2,845 advanced to the Personality Test. Ultimately, 1,009 candidates (725 men and 284 women) were recommended for appointment to various services.
A social media user took to X (formerly Twitter) to expose the reality that is often cloaked under the glamour of the UPSC coaching industry in India. The user called the industry shinier versions of MLM scamsters, while accusing the 'gurus and mentors' and coaching centres of giving false hopes to UPSC aspirants.
He said that the so-called mentors are just salesmen who peddle dreams, mint money, and feed off the insecurities of youth.
"They know fully well that 99% of students will never make it, yet they'll never say it honestly. Instead of guiding weak students towards alternate careers, they romanticise endless attempts, drops, and 'the struggle' as if wasting your prime years in a dingy classroom is some heroic sacrifice," the user wrote.
He added that these gurus tend to glamourise depression, poverty and sacrifice of students like badges of honour while building multi-storey campuses and sprawling coaching empires for themselves. "The more students break, the richer they get. Their “motivational talks” are nothing but trap speeches designed to keep you hooked in the cycle of hope, failure, and re-enrolment."
He further said that these gurus and coaching centres are not producing the nation's future bureaucrats as they claim but many 30+ year-olds with no career, no stability, no savings, and just a CV ruined by multiple UPSC attempts.
Here's what netizens said
The post left social media users divided, as some users agreed with the user's take. Others, however, said that aspirants were equally responsible for their situation.
"Absolutely. They also pitch like network marketing gurus. The 12th Fail movie has further romanticised the multiple attempt theory! UPSC preparation is an escape route for the unemployed elite family kids?" a user wrote.
"Aspirants are also equally responsible. When they even know the success rate is 0.1% in the exam, why don't they drop after a few attempts instead of giving exams in a continuous loop till the last attempt without upskilling in all these years of preparation? You're supposed to be mature enough to know what's right and wrong. They even take failure as an ego-hurt thing," a second user commented.
"More responsible than the coaching owners are the parents who turn their children into machines to fulfill their dreams and ambitions. Coaching institutes have sprung up to exploit the aspirations of such people whose sole aim is to earn money," a third user wrote.
"UPSC coaching is no longer a ‘temple of knowledge’ but a business of fear and false dreams. Everyone knows 99% won’t make it, yet they’re sold fake hopes and the ‘romance of struggle,’ fueling a multi-crore industry. This isn’t education-it’s just the shiniest MLM scheme," a fourth user said.
Reality behind the claims
As per the data published by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the pass percentage for CSE in 2024 is around 0.17%.
A total of 9,92,599 candidates applied for the exam, with 5,83,213 appearing. 14,627 qualified for the Written (Main) Exam in September 2024, and 2,845 advanced to the Personality Test. Ultimately, 1,009 candidates (725 men and 284 women) were recommended for appointment to various services.