Farzan Farooq commits 15-17 hours of his day to Cabin Number 99, reserved for him until May this year, at Baitul-Hikmah library, a private reading hall in Srinagar's Rajbagh area. A native of Kulgam, 70 km from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq is preparing for the national-level medical entrance exam, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG).
Despite residing as a paying guest in Srinagar, Farzan seldom utilises his room for anything other than sleeping and eating. Instead, he gravitates towards the nearby reading hall, a few hundred metres away. Much like Farzan, dozens of aspirants aiming for various exams like NEET, JEE Main and JEE Advanced for engineering, as well as government job examinations such as JKPSC, JKSSB, and UPSC, flock to these private reading halls every day to study. They provide a conducive environment for quiet study, shielding students from distractions and fostering an atmosphere that encourages focused and effective study. The surge in popularity of such private reading halls has increased in the valley following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I opted for the reading hall because it offers an ideal study environment. Once I step inside, the outside world fades away, allowing me to concentrate on my studies. Moreover, there are no external distractions in the hall," Farzan explained. "In addition to studying and watching online lectures, I carve out some time to discuss strategies and clarify doubts with my friends who are also in the same library. This is another advantage of being in a reading hall."
Accessible 24X7
Esta historia es de la edición May 2024 de Careers 360.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 2024 de Careers 360.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
100 Best Business Schools In The Country
For Careers360's 2025 B-school ranking, we ranked 100 public and private management institutions and rated over 500, dividing them into zones and city clusters
'We have a completion rate of 80-90%'
During an interaction, Mayank Kumar, co-founder and managing director of upGrad, spoke to Sheena Sachdeva about new courses in accounting and management, the profile of learners, trends in online MBA courses, and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation below
New roles and spaces
Online MBA has helped many working professionals climb up the office hierarchy or even pivot to an entirely new career. But there are challenges.
'Committed to industry-relevant learning'
International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, is India's first corporate-sponsored B-school. It offers three PG diplomas in management - the flagship PGDM with 300 seats, as well as human resource management and business and financial studies with 60 each. Himadri Das, director general, IMI, discussed the challenges posed by competition among private business schools, the importance of diversity, and IMI's NIRF rankings with Sanjay. Edited excerpts from the interview.
National Insurance Academy plans expansion to meet rising demand
The National Insurance Academy (NIA), now situated in Pune, was established jointly by the ministry of finance and all the major public sector undertakings (PSUs) in insurance. Originally a training institute for insurance industry professionals, it has been offering a postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) since 2004 and has placed 100% of its students all through.
The era of MBA in sustainability
As companies are increasingly pushed to meet environmental compliances, management institutes are revamping their curricula with specialised MBA programmes in sustainability or launching new programmes
Despite good record, SRCC's PGDM faces degree hurdle
Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce started its postgraduate diploma in Global Business Operations (GBO) 25 years ago. Principal Simrit Kaur spoke to Shradha Chettri on their effort to convert the diploma into a degree programme, changes required in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and more. Edited excerpts
Managing produce, from farm to plate
Agribusiness managers are in great demand, both on the 'input' side of agriculture - seeds, fertilizer, machinery businesses - as well as in the processing of the 'output'
Creating 'innovators with conscience'
The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, has been the top Indian institution in the Financial Times' (FT) Masters in Management rankings for two years in a row. Varun Nagaraj, dean of SPJIMR, spoke to Atul Krishna about what the institute does differently, its plans, the future of business education, and the FT and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) lists. Edited excerpts below
'Quality management education that is equitable': FMS Dean
The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) at the University of Delhi (DU) is one of India's premier business schools offering MBA courses at a relatively low cost, compared to most leading business schools in India. Celebrating its 70th year, it is also one of the first university-based business schools. In an interview with Sanjay, head and dean of FMS A Venkat Raman spoke about the functioning of a business school under a central university, challenges, courses and future plans. He also spoke on the Common Admission Test (CAT) and its impact on diversity in student cohorts. Edited excerpts
