Kartikey Pandey, Ushering Online Education in a New Era

Kartikey Pandey from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh is an online educator par excellence. Through his Educational YouTube Channel, ‘New Era JEE’, he reaches out to millions of students who are preparing for competitive exams.

With his team of well-qualified teachers, Kartikey Pandey creates and curates the best content for his students. From providing free access to quality coaching to the students in need, Kartikey even pulls day-long live classes to make sure that his students climb the ladder of success. Coming from a small town and a humble background, Kartikey, even after achieving excellence in online education, remains a modest figure.

Educators like Mr Kartikey Pandey are the fine examples of how small-town India is providing the nucleus for an emerging India. We at Wonderslate feel extremely happy to bring to you the story of Mr Kartikey Pandey.

Following is an excerpt from the recent interview Wonderpublish conducted with Mr Kartikey Pandey:

Q 1: When did you decide to do it and why?

Ans: We started on this journey on 12th March 2017. At that time we were in the second year of our graduate program at IIT BHU. Initially, we named our YouTube channel, New Era Online Coaching. Then later when we created separate YouTube channels for IIT JEE, NEET and Olympiad / KVPY, the YouTube channel name was changed to New Era – JEE. We wanted to help the students whose dream was to get into IITs. We know that many students, due to the lack of money and resources, are unable to prepare for the exam like IIT JEE (Main + Advanced). Hence, we started New Era JEE to help such students at the time of their preparation and to help at the time of counseling as well.

Q 2: Tell us about your journey?

Ans: I started New Era with Soumya Soni, a friend from IIT BHU. First, we made a few videos about IITs and uploaded them to YouTube. Then afterwards started teaching for the same. In the beginning, there were many problems like, we didn’t have a camera, so we recorded videos on mobile. Two months later, we got access to a studio near IIT BHU, Lime Light Studio, which is run by Sanjay Bhaiya, and got the chance to record videos in a formal set-up. Meanwhile, many students on YouTube started subscribing to our channel for the preparation of exams like IIT JEE / NEET. Then 17 months later, two more friends from IIT BHU, Devraj Gurjar and Manish Kumar Gupta joined our team. And when little revenue started coming from YouTube, we bought a camera to improve the video quality. More than 1 lakh students started their preparation from the New Era JEE YouTube channel. When our graduation was about to complete, we started getting students preparing for IIT JEE / NEET through an offline coaching in Rewa (Madhya Pradesh).

Just 2 months ago, we started a crash course for IIT JEE 2020 (Main + Advanced). And on 25 June 2020 launched the New Era JEE 2.0, in which we get the students to prepare for IIT JEE 2021 and IIT JEE 2022 daily through live classes on our YouTube channel. Live classes run on our YouTube channel from 7 am to 10 pm.

Q 3: What goes in making a video or a live session? Also, tell us about your team.

Ans: To take a live class, we have created a setup in our offline coaching, which has a camera, mic and an interactive smartboard. For this, we have installed lights, and also have some sound absorbers for good sound quality. And besides this whole setup, there is also a good internet connection.

We are currently a 5-member-team at New Era. I teach physics. Saumya Sony Ma’am teaches Mathematics. Devraj Gurjar Sir teaches chemistry. Manish Kumar Gupta sir teaches physics. All four of us are from IIT BHU. And the fifth member of our team, Aditya Sharma Sir, teaches Biology, who is in his final year of MBBS at Shyam Shah Medical College.

Q 4: Tell us about the problems students face in smaller cities? And what should be done to address those problems?

Ans: Small cities often do not have coaching institutes for exams like IIT JEE / NEET, so students have to go to other big cities for preparation. When we came here to open offline coaching of IIT JEE/NEET in Rewa, there were no proper coaching institutes for IIT JEE / NEET. Now for Rewa students, proper coaching is available right here in their own city. There is also a huge problem of internet connectivity in small cities. Due to low internet speed, students have difficulty in attending live classes.

People should focus on resolving these problems and consider ways to help raise the level of education in their areas. Coaching institutes are there in many cities, but students do not get good coaching in them, so proper implementation is very important. Along with this, Internet service providers should provide good speed internet in small cities to solve internet connectivity issues.

Q 5: Teaching Online is a new phenomenon, especially in small towns. What does your family feel about it?

Ans: Online coaching is a new chapter in the history of education, and it is a very new medium especially in small towns. Because of the Corona pandemic, we have fully understood the importance of online education. Although this change has come very suddenly, over time everyone is going to adapt accordingly.

My family believes that there are some benefits of online teaching, such as students can prepare from home, if for some reason someone’s class is missed then they can see the recorded class. Apart from this, the students who do not have good coaching available in their area or can’t afford the coaching expenses can also prepare through online coaching.

Q 6: Apart from teaching what are the other things you like to do?

Ans: Apart from teaching, I love watching cricket. And I like to spend time with my mother.

Q 7: What’s next for New Era and Kartikey Pandey?

Ans: Right now, New Era is about to launch an app, through which we will teach students for free. Currently, we want to connect with good people, who can help us achieve this goal. We want to add more people to our team so that children can be given better content for more time with ease.

Q 8: Any message you want to give to your students?

I would like to give just one message – My father used to make punctures of bicycles. Coming from such a background I became an IITian. ​​So if I can do it, you can do it too. Keep on working hard.

Here is the link to the New Era JEE YouTube channel