New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) As several branches of FIITJEE in Delhi-NCR and north India in the past few days were shut amid speculation over the institute’s financial crisis and troubles, the coaching institute on Saturday said it has ‘not closed any centre as part of its own decision’.
In a statement, the education company said that the overnight desertion of the centre by the Centre Managing Partner, along with the entire team suddenly overnight, is ‘the only reason for this force majeure type of condition’.
“The present turmoil in the institution is temporary. Company officials are working to resume operations at all places within a reasonable time,” said FIITJEE.
The shutting down of its centres has left hundreds of parents fuming who have filed complaints to demand a refund of fees, according to police officials.
In cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Bhopal, parents have filed multiple police complaints while the coaching institute’s reputed South Delhi branch at Kalu Sarai near IIT-Delhi was forced to suspend some classes due exodus of teachers who were allegedly not paid wages for several months.
According to FIITJEE, so far, as criminal cases lodged against it are concerned, “our legal team is taking appropriate action against the malicious prosecutions lodged against us.”
“This entire story is part of a criminal conspiracy which has been hatched by people with vested interests and very soon through a detailed investigation, the truth will emerge. Truth cannot be concealed forever,” said the coaching institute in its statement.
It further stated, “We are also going to take strict legal action against the unfair trade practices adopted by our competitors before civil and criminal courts.”
FIITJEE reportedly has 72 centres across 41 cities and over 300 employees.
On Thursday, a police complaint was also filed in Noida Sector-58 after the closure of the FIITJEE centre in the city, without a fee refund. Several such complaints were registered across north India.
According to FIITJEE, the Corporate Office in Delhi only follows the advice of the Managing Partners in order to grow the business and the concerned officials of FIITJEE Corporate Delhi used to provide them with complete support as per their requisitions and instructions based on their projection for growth of business of their respective centres.
“Managing Partners have a profit-sharing model besides getting a regular salary. They have been receiving regular MIS by email since 2014-15 to this effect. They compelled the corporate management to usurp the entire collections causing significant losses,” according to the statement.
“Owing to mismanagement and exploitation by the Managing Partners, FIITJEE’s financial situation worsened in January 2024. The group CFO forecasted that after six months, the company might run into an operational cash crunch. In February 2024, the company questioned the Core Group as well as all Managing Partners and told them to optimise the excess manpower, improve the work culture, and clearly outline the strategy for bouncing back from the situation, so that their respective centres start operating without causing further losses,” according to the company.
This was done through recorded Zoom Meetings and written communications but “most of the Managing Partners did not take any action”, the company stressed.
“In fact, even this situation was exploited by some managing partners to gain unfair advantage. They, rather than working on proper optimisation, halted admissions and disrupted regular processes. This exacerbated the financial crunch,” it added.
–IANS
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