INSIDE STORY. Review on NIIT Ltd

The size of this review may be leviathan and may feel like a wet blanket initially but let me assure you this is the experience of a student for 2 years in the heinous world of NIIT.

If you ask any layman to name any IT training institute then the name that you tend to hear first, immutably, would be ''NIIT''. NIIT is renowned for having a stature of an extremely scrupulous IT institute - built on a base of indomitable credentials which are self revealing.

But little do these people know the factual secluded story of these veritably named ''Ignoble Charlatans!!!''. I myself am one of the many hapless students of NIIT who got attracted to all the cajolery that surrounded the name ''NIIT''little aware of what was in fate for us.

I remember the first day that I went into the air conditioned office of NIIT greeted by a smiling face – the Counselor who is supposed to do nothing but swindle you into taking admission in the institute & she surely did her job well. I was asked to give a test if in order to judge whether I had the aptitude to enroll for the course. Obviously the test was just a fanfaron (and probably I scored such dolorously that they were not ready to even tell my score!!!). I joined the institute and took DNIIT course for Rs. 56,000.

The course was supposed to get over in 2 years and they managed to finish only 50 % of the course in two years!!!!! This was mainly because our faculty used to come in the class almost 30 minutes late and after that every 15 minutes he used to meander out talking to the centre staff. The entire two years was punctuated by poignant parties DIWALI DHAMAKA to be precise. Where not only students participated but there were occasions were the faculties also had fashion shows and they were busy rehearsing for their shows. I do agree that students also want a deviation but when such ostentatious functions gets really bugging then it does shows the adverse effects.

In this period we (I and my friends) realized that we had paid off almost 90% of our installment in spite of the fact that only 2 semesters were over. When we talked to the SSA (Students Assistant) regarding the fees installment we were profanely said that if we did not pay our installment then we would not be allowed to enter NIIT. One girl was actually asked to get out of the class just because she did not pay her SEMESTER D' installment where as she was doing her SEMESTER B and had paid the installments way back.

We also have to give projects and presentations which are not listened at all. The faculty would be sitting on the last bench with a couple of his friends and crack jokes and laugh at it when you would presenting- all you diligence goes down the drain. One of my friend actually went and complained against the faculty and the faculty as a reply to his jeremiad actually gave the student lowest marks in spite of the de facto that his presentation was actually the best in the batch.

We had also attended a couple of seminars which were less informative and more of a marketing venue for the NIIT and the affiliated hosts.

It was in this period that we calculated our installments and found that they had charged us almost 3000 to 6000 more than what was originally decided upon. Again that took a couple of months to get sorted out after a complain was given in the regional office. The fees may be fixed but there are copious cached sources through which they keep charging Rs1000 (it's never less). If you need to take a break pay 1000

If you need a center transfer pay 1500 even if the center shuts down.

The janki center (Andheri) was shut down a couple of months back and all the students were shifted to BEST(Andheri) Center and they were demanded a sum of Rs.1000 for something that the students were not at fault.

If the course if upgraded pay 1000

But they degrade the course without our knowledge and then they get away with it.

I have friends who had taken a break and after they came back they were not allowed to join the classes by giving some lame reasons.

What NIIT keeps thinking about is various ways of churning out money from the students.

NIIT keeps bragging about its opulent Placement network. But candidly speaking even if one person gets a stipend of Rs. 10000 (Dont ask annually or monthly) they make a huge issue of it and fill the entire place with notices of their great ''laudable'' achievement. The average stipend that an iGNIITian gets is not more than Rs. 4k. where as iGNIITians are supposed to be their ''creme de la creme''. The truth remains that most of the students who are actually placed get jobs as their faculties in some other centers and no student wishes to be part of the sordid and knavish system.

The staff is also very polite to you in the incipient period but it is actually later on that their theatrical layer peels off and their true contour gets exposed. It's a total topsy-turvy later on as the staff gets extremely acerbic, and you feel like throwing out a deluge of a lexicon of abusive words in their praise!!!!!

Just imagine this entire trauma faced by the students almost diurnally. This dwindles the determination of the most studious students who are seriously trying to pursue a career in the IT field. THE FACT REMAINS THAT THEY TREAT STUDENTS AS MERE STUDENTS AND NOT AS CUSTOMERS.

The center concentrates all its competencies in trying to squeeze out the green backs from the students pockets. Such is the plaintive scene in NIIT which only seems to spread disdain and apathy amongst students towards the institution. The very fact that in the first semester all batches start with full strength of 30 students but by the end of the semester there are hardly 15 students left in the batch. I always ponder whether the staff has any grey matter!!!! Don't they ever realize that these students would bat mouth about the institution even before they have left it (like I am doing it right now)? Its high time that students must unite together and fight against the atrocities (well that's what it should be called) committed against the students as NIIT has taken undue advantage of the students reticence.

I would advice any one who is very keen in taking up IT as his career then dont join for the entire course. Join for each semester as this would relive you of the burden of fees and other formalities that keeping propping up like break fees, transfer fees, refund, etc. it is the best way of tackling the hoaxes of the most malodorous player in its field NIIT.

I have also heard that there other institutes like SSI, Arena which are much better that NIIT. These institutes since they are recently set up are more dedicated towards their students (CUSTOMERS) and dont take them for granted.