Ahmedabad, GUJARAT :

“While I offer this service for free, I do ask for something in return from my students – a promise that they will pass on the kindness by helping other needy students. It might surprise you, but I don’t have to spend a single rupee on faculty as all my past students are training my current students,” says Professor Hidayat Saiyed of Ahmedabad who believes that if you have knowledge, you must share it.

From a time when he could not succeed in a competitive exam because of the lack of money to afford proper guidance, to today when he is guiding students free of cost, in 13 centres all over Gujarat – this is his story:

Meet Professor Hidayat Saiyed who is an epitome of kindness. He runs Sarovar Education Society. The social work he has been doing since last one decade is beyond appraisal.

“After completing my college I decided to appear for competitive exams but I couldn’t afford private coaching classes and nobody was their to guide me. Lack of proper environment and guidance made me fail in exams just by few marks. This incident left a big impression on me and I thought that there would be so many young and bright students who want to appear for career-oriented examinations but do not have the financial means to secure admission in coaching classes. And soon I decided to start this social activity to train students for exams without charging a penny from them.

I started training my first batch of students for Gujarat Public Service Commission exams in the year 2006 in a small rented house and to my surprise out of those 24 students, 18 cleared the prelim exams and 1 of them got selected for the job. This gave me a big boost. Soon some young boys who were doing odd jobs in our locality came to me and said that if we get proper guidance than even we can clear such competitive exams. This success boosted my desire to set up an institute where I could give free guidance to needy students.

So in the year 2008, I officially started this Institute and at present we have 13 centers all over Gujarat with 1000 students being trained for the competitive exams. While I offer this service in free, I do ask for something in return from my students- A promise that they will pass on the kindness by helping other needy students. It might surprise you, but I don’t have to spend a single money on faculty as all my past students are training my current students.

In our community usually girls don’t come out and appear for such exams but I am proud to say that I’ve managed to break that stereotype and today 60 percent of my students are girls and remaining are boys. There are girls who have been posted in different parts of Gujarat and are getting finest of jobs. Those who get selected for jobs donate reading material and have even helped set up a well-equipped library for students.

My classes are open for anyone who cannot afford coaching. There was this one time a female student in my class had reached the final stages of a competitive exam when her parents decided to get her married. Two years later, she delivered a baby but her husband died in a road accident and she returned to her parents’ house here. She was shattered and upset. Her mother brought her to me and I encouraged her to resume studies. Soon she passed four competitive exams and today she works with Employee’s State Insurance Corporation. So what I am trying to say is that students dedication and professors proper guidance can change students lives. Every young fellow has an undying desire to study and get a good job, it’s just that they don’t get a helping hand.