Being resilient will help overcome the tough challenges that this unprecedented pandemic has thrown at us and most importantly, one needs to have a relentless focus to capitalize on the opportunities as and when they arise," said Ravikanth Kanchibhotla, COO, Oliveboard

Is there an uptick in students taking up coaching for the government services exams?

We have always seen demand from Tier II and III students choosing government services exams over the private sector. What has changed recently is that due to the time available, students have invested time in preparing for government sector exams. The demand for public sector exams such as SEBI and UPSC EPFO has risen.

During the crisis, stability always being associated with government jobs is all the more emphasized. Keeping this in mind, we have launched free live mock tests for all government exams. We have 15k-20k students taking the free live test every day, since the launch.  

Please share the rise in demand for courses to compete for these government services exams if we compare that with last year.

Every year there is a great demand for SBI PO and RBI Grade B exams. Unfortunately, both the exams have been delayed this year. However, notifications around EPFO, SEBI, and the latest IBPS RRB have got the students excited amidst this pandemic.

As the exam is not too near, students are opting for courses over tests to strengthen their weaknesses. Given the increased amount of time in hands, students are restructuring their plans for their respective exams according to the difficulty level.

How many students have enrolled in coaching for these exams? Is it an all-time high over the last 5 years? 

More than 50k+ students have enrolled in our free coaching recently and the number is only increasing. The response is tremendous from the tier 2 and 3 cities. Though it is not an all-time high, but definitely a high number when there are no exam notifications released.

Talking about trends we have observed students spending more time attending online live classes. Students are also consuming a lot of free materials like free tests, free PDF, free practice sessions, etc. We have also seen a rise in engagement for current affairs sessions and have recorded a good spike in our daily YouTube sessions as well. 

There are instability and fear of unemployment in the back of the mind of students. How are you morally supporting them?

While the macro factors do play a role to a large extent, it is important for the students to stay focused and be prepared to face the challenges. We are taking steps to help them, both morally and financially, through this period. We do offer a lot of content free of cost to help them prepare uninterrupted without any additional financial burden. On the other hand, we do bring special sessions involving toppers from previous years and subject matter experts to guide them with a strategy and help them stay motivated while fine-tuning their preparation cycle to meet the challenges thrown by these uncertain times.

What are the values you think would be necessary to stay relevant and efficient in the New Normal?

Adaptability, resilience, and relentless focus are a few that we think are absolutely essential to stay relevant and efficient. As the line is redrawn and new normal is being defined, students need to learn to accept and be adaptable to those changes. Being resilient will help overcome the tough challenges that this unprecedented pandemic has thrown at us and most importantly, one needs to have a relentless focus to capitalize on the opportunities as and when they arise.

What is that one powerful quote that always gives you the strength to be strong?

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice