Tag Archives: Civil Services Coaching Centre – Haj House – Mumbai

UPSC: Mohammad Hussain, who had failed in his first four attempts, sat in a mosque and cried out to Allah before succeeding in his fifth attempt

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Wadi Bundar, Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA:

Syed Mohammad Hussain said Failing in four attempts disappointed me, but it did not let me break down. I worked hard and cracked the UPSC exam.


Hussain, a resident of Sholapur Lane, Wadi Bandar, Mumbai, has secured the 570th rank in the UPSC Exam 2022.


Success for Hussain was full of struggles and hard work. Hussain lives in a small shanty on the roadside adjacent to the Wadi Bandar Majgaon Dock area. It is the hub of godowns; loading and unloading heavy vehicles is routine here. When I reached Wadi Bandar, Hussain met me enthusiastically and immediately reminded me by saying, Sir, I promised that this time I would definitely give you an interview opportunity.” Now that it has been fulfilled, I remembered that meeting in my flashback. After a while, Hussain got busy between some TV channels and YouTubers and then said, “Sir, we sit at a place nearby; the house is small; people will keep coming to meet me; we will not be focused.” We reached the nearby Jafar Sulaiman Hostel. Hussain said, Sir, the complete preparation of my 5th attempt has been done at this place.

On a question about the journey from primary to graduation, Hussain replied that he studied from 1st to 5th standard at Khwaja Shia Asana Ashri School, then joined St. Joseph High School Dongri in 6th standard, from where he passed the 10th exam in 2012 with 61% marks. Later, I passed 12th Commerce in 2014 from Anjuman Islam Alana Junior College in Vermont with 72%, joined Elphinstone College for graduation, and completed my B.Com. in 2017 with 86%.


Hussain reveals the story of how the idea of doing UPSC came to his mind. My father is illiterate; his childhood was spent in an area that was once considered a hotbed of crime. My father had dreamed of making us government officers by giving higher education to my siblings. He was a member of the Mohalla committee, so he used to participate in the programmes organised by the police station. When I was a school-going boy, I had the opportunity to visit government offices. Then I got inspired by the officers, and the idea of becoming an officer came into my mind at an early age. After graduation, I decided to pursue a career in competitive exams. My father wished that if the situation in the area were to change, I would have to prove myself.

Not having much career awareness, I moved from Mumbai to Pune based on whatever I had learned by myself. There I took admitted to Unique Academy and started regular civil service studies. Alhamdulillah I qualified for the preliminary exam on my first attempt in 2018 after only eight months of preparation, but failed the main exam due to my lack of experience in studying.

Meanwhile, I came to know about Jamia Residential Coaching Academy. I cleared its entrance and went to Delhi, where I learned a lot from seniors. Appeared for the 2019 prelims but didn’t qualify. The reason was that I focused all my attention on the main study. As I had no experience studying, it was a big lesson for me.

Unfortunately, due to the Corona lockdown, I returned to Mumbai. Here, then, CEO Maqsood Khan Sahib gave me an opportunity to prepare in Haj House. With all the facilities near my home, I worked hard and qualified for the 2020 and 2021 prelims, respectively, but failed again in the mains. Due to some unavoidable circumstances, senior students left the Hajj House. It was a sign of great sorrow for me.

At the same time, with the efforts of Maqsood Khan sb., a centre for the preparation of the civil service examination was started at the Jafar Sulaiman Musafir Khana hostel. I was very happy that Allah provided us with the means. It was impossible to study with uniformity among all the members of the house. After joining Jafar Sulaiman Hostel along with my own studies, I started coaching other students as well. Alhamdulillah, ever since this centre was established, students have been achieving success in one or another examination. The full credit goes to Maqsood Khan Sahib and his teammate, who laid the foundation of this centre in times of need. Despite very limited resources and a lack of facilities, doing my studies here has been quite fruitful for me. Having qualified in three out of the four attempts in the prelims, I was very disappointed with the continuous failure in the mains but did not let myself break down.

One day, I sat in the courtyard of the mosque in Jafar Suleman Musafirkhana and wept before Allah. I did introspection on myself and found out my weaknesses, strengths, and the reasons behind my failure. In the end, I stood up with determination by committing myself, “Now the next journey will be for success.” Then I qualified for the May 2022 preliminary exams. This encouraged me. The main exam took place in September 2022. Alhamdulillah, I had success in that too. In preparation for the interview, I went to Jamia RCA Delhi, where I got training and guidance from seniors. Through hard work and continuous mock interviews, I gained confidence and appeared for the interview in February 2023. Alhamdulillah, I succeeded with a 570 rank on my 5th attempt. Due to the support of my parents, relatives, friends, Haj House, Jamia RCA, Jafar Sulaiman Musafir Khana Civil Service Centre, and especially Maqsood Ahmad Khan Sb.

Mohammad Hussain said in a message to the students: The civil service exam takes time. It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm and takes time.” It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm.” It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm. Everyone has a share in it. Meet the professionals with whom you want to make your career, get full knowledge of the field, and work hard.

Interviewer Akhlaque Sk (career counsellor)  can be reached at sakhlaque@ymail.com.

source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Education / by Shaikh Akhlaque / May 28th, 2023

Haj House centre wins big in UPSC

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Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Muzammil Sayyed, a trainee at the centre from Latur, said, “We got a boost after three of our seniors cracked the UPSC examination.”

“The cell is good for freshers as it helps in clearing the UPSC preliminary examination,” said Mohammed Mustafa Aejaz.(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)
“The cell is good for freshers as it helps in clearing the UPSC preliminary examination,” said Mohammed Mustafa Aejaz.(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

The civil services coaching centre at the city’s Haj House, which until now has had limited success in pushing Muslim youth towards civil services, got a boost, after three of its alumni were recently selected by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Junaid Ahmad, who hails from Bijnaur in Uttar Pradesh and was trained at the IAS and Allied Coaching and Guidance Cell, run by the Centre’s Haj Committee of India (HCI), for two years between 2013 and 2015, ranked third nationally in the UPSC examination. The other two successful aspirants – Zaib Shaikh, from Ahmednagar, and Mohammed Mustafa Aejaz, from Mehboob Nagar in Telangana – were placed at the 225th and 613th positions, respectively.

An HCI official said the news of these achievements has generated a renewed interest and awareness about the coaching facility among the community. “Ever since the UPSC results were declared [on April 5], we have been receiving enquiry calls from all across the country. I still get around 50 calls every day,” he said.

Muzammil Sayyed, a trainee at the centre from Latur, said, “We got a boost after three of our seniors cracked the UPSC examination.”

Last year, as many as 6,732 graduates from across the country had applied for the centre’s entrance test, up from around 1,500 registrations in 2017. This year, the HCI officials expect the number of applications to increase even further – the last day to apply is May 7.

The Cell was established in August 2009, in the backdrop of the Sachar Committee report, which found that Muslims lagged behind most of the other communities in the country in educationally, economically and politically. The report, released in November 2006, pointed out that while Muslims constitute 14% of the Indian population, they only comprise 3% of the civil services and 4% of the police service. Since then, the Muslim representation in civil services has improved to some extent. Of 1,099 candidates who cleared the civil services examination last year 50 (4.5%) were Muslims, the highest since Independence. So far, the coaching centre has produced seven UPSC achievers, including the three who were selected this year. Several other alumni have joined other government agencies, including Reserve Bank of India, Central Excise Department and various state services.

“The cell is good for freshers as it helps in clearing the UPSC preliminary examination,” said Mohammed Mustafa Aejaz.

According to SAM Hashmi, the founder director, who headed the cell between 2010 and 2013, lack of proper leadership at HCI and the cell is to be blamed for its slow progress. “The leaders lacked either academic experience or administrative experience or both,” said Hashmi, who was principal at Akbar Peerbhoy College, Grant Road, and now heads a coaching academy at Mumbra.

In the last ten years, the cell has had four directors. Anwar Khatau, the current director, has previously served at the accounts section of HCI as well as the state’s Maulana Azad Minorities Financial Development Corporation Limited. He was appointed in 2017.

The cell has been experimenting with various coaching techniques, including video lectures and in-person lectures. Last year, the HCI switched back to in-person lectures by faculty from a Pune-based academy, after video lectures by a Delhi-based academy failed to deliver desired results. MA Khan, who was appointed the chief executive officer (CEO) of HCI last year, said the cell is trying to extend every possible support to its students and alumni. “We are providing books, residence and monetary help to our former students for service-specific training at their own place. We have even roped-in non-government organisations for this purpose. We fulfil all the demands of the students of the current batch of the students. In fact, we sought their approval before appointing the faculty,” he said.

Among other changes, the HCI has also done away with the deeniyat (religious knowledge) section of the entrance test and admitted aspirants solely on the basis of their knowledge relevant to civil services. It has also introduced weekly tests and facilitates weekly interactive sessions with faculty. The cell has also encouraged interaction among students, including inter-gender interaction, which was discouraged until now. The students said that the environment at Haj House is conducive for preparing for civil services examinations. “After a year of coaching at Haj House, I stayed here for another year to prepare for the UPSC exam. I will now leave so other students get the opportunity,” said Rais Shaikh, a trainee from Thane.

Sajid Husain, a trainee from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal said that the Haj House facility needs wider publicity. “Many are still unaware of the scheme,” he said.

“There’s a proposal to start such coaching centres at the state-level Haj committee facilities,” said Sayyed.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Mumbai / by Hindustan Times, Mumbai / April 22nd, 2019