Weathering rains and strong winds, IAS
aspirants from near and far gathered in the Bicentenary Hall of Don Bosco
College, Panjim to attend a seminar based on cracking civil services exams. The
crowd present for the seminar included people belonging to the age group of 18
to 30 years.
ALS Satellite Education is India’s
largest coaching network having more than 75 satellite centres across the
country. With Don Bosco College as its first satellite centre here in Goa, IAS
aspirants will now have access to some of the best trainers, frontline faculty
and study material coming straight from Delhi thereby bringing IAS coaching
right to one’s doorstep.
The dignitaries for the day included the
Don Bosco Provincial, Vice-provincial and other priests of the Salesian family
along with Principal of Don Bosco College, Dr Cedric Silveira. The Rector of
Don Bosco Panjim, Fr Avin Carvalho welcomed the audience and spoke about the
necessity of such exams for people looking to serve society in some way.
The chief speaker for the day was Jojo
Matthew, one of India’s best IAS mentors having experience of training over
2000 IAS officers in his time.
Having more than 20 years experience in
coaching students for the civil services exams, Matthew tackled every question
that came his way with ease. Right from his opinion on the inclusion of a
foundation course to how much time a student doing their first year of
graduation should realistically devote to preparing for the exam, he went on to
break the study time according to subjects mentioning that at least one hour of
newspaper reading is a must. For those devoting themselves entirely to preparing
for the exam, minimum three hours need to be spent on brushing up on optional
subjects and another three hours for general studies.
Some younger members of the audience raised
concerns about rumours concerning a change in the pattern of the paper.
However, Matthew reassured them with a simple statement, “If you study diligently,
no change can be a problem. Once something definite comes out, then accordingly
we will mould and guide you in tackling it. For now, your focus should just be
on preparing.”
The interactive discussion that ensued
ignited the inquisitiveness of both – beginners and those already preparing for
the exams.
Reported by Sera
