Through his YouTube channel and mobile application, former government official Abhinay Sharma has started a noble cause of providing affordable education to millions of government job aspirants.
Named Abhinaya Maths, the platform targets mostly government job seekers coming from tier II, III and IV cities, where affordability is a major concern. He says that more than 10,000 students have passed the government exams taught by him and so far he has provided free education to more than 1 million students in small towns and cities across the country.
The decision to embark on this journey, he says, came from his own childhood, much of which he spent in poverty. His only strength was his ability to solve math problems.
Recalling the time he prepared for the SSC CGL (Combined Graduate Level) government entrance exam, he says, “When I was preparing, there was only one book available. I didn’t have the luxury of attending free YouTube classes. I expect help from others, but because of my financial background no one helped me.
“Now, I try to help students with my work. I have never denied admission to students from poor backgrounds. I see myself in them,” says the 32-year-old from Rampur village in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. Uttam India.
From bad to worse
He says, ‘Since my childhood, I have seen my mother listening to relatives. “We didn’t have a stove. He used to burn papers to heat milk for us. We will be ridiculed and humiliated for our poverty. Our relatives used to ask us not to come to family gatherings because we don’t have good clothes. They didn’t even let us get into their car.
“During my 10th and 12th, I used to wear only one set of clothes for the whole week. I would wash it on Sunday and repeat it again. My classmates would make fun of me and avoid talking to me,” he adds.
After graduating in engineering, Abhinay started preparing for competitive exams. He moved from his village to Greater Noida to prepare for the exam. To support her emotionally, her family accompanied her. The family moved into a flat for a monthly rent of Rs 1,500.
He remembers that his father’s construction business was not so stable at that time. “Sometimes we get enough money. But at other times, we struggle even for two square meals,” he says.
To meet the household expenses, he started giving tuition and was able to earn Rs 6,000 per month. Meanwhile, he cleared the competitive exam and got a job in the Income Tax Department in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
Another tragedy occurred when the landlord told the family that he would no longer rent the house and to vacate the flat. “It was a very painful moment. I had tears in my eyes. But my father calmed me down and we shifted to another flat within a week,” says Abhinay.
Until then, he had refused a government job as it was not close to home. He continued to give offline tuition. With this income, he started buying household appliances like air conditioners and stoves. Their economic condition started to improve.
But after falling in love with acting in 2013, his family’s situation started to deteriorate again. His career graph slowed down and he had to quit his coaching job. He continued to take the exam and in 2016, he got a job opportunity as an Accounts Officer in Mumbai. This time he took a job.
But this did not end the difficulties.
At the same time, his father’s business also collapsed. “It was one of the worst phases of my life. We bought a house in Greater Noida with our savings and took a huge loan of Rs 70 lakh from a bank and Rs 40 lakh from a friend. It came to a point where we had to struggle even for a recharge of Rs 10. Bad. From stage to stage, I went to good, and then to bad,” says Abhinay.
To make matters worse, his mother developed facial paralysis and his father was diagnosed with diabetes. Abhinay felt that a government job was not enough to pay his debts and meet his household expenses. After four months of work, he resigned and returned home.
When the tables were turned
Back home, Abhinay sold his phone and took some of the income and stayed in a rented flat with his brother. “We used to sit and sleep in the same room and set the seats for the students ourselves the next morning. In July, we started with a batch of 20 students and we managed to collect around Rs 1 lakh,” he says.
In mid-2017, an acting student suggested him to upload a video on YouTube. He says that the video got more than 1 million views within six days.
“In the video description, we also added a link to one of the books I wrote. Students loved it because I used to simplify the answers to math problems. For example, how to make algebra and trigonometry easy using zero. From this I started earning Rs 5-7 lakh. “That was one of the best phases of my life. A year ago I was struggling to survive on Maggi,” he says.
Inspired by this, Abhinaya started her own YouTube channel – Abhinaya Math – in October 2017. The channel became one of the first few educational channels on YouTube to reach one million subscribers in eight months. He has also expanded his coaching to a hall with a capacity of 150 students. When he announced the batch in November, around 500 students had joined him.
“They would stand in line to study in my class. We managed to pay off the loan. In 2018, I bought my first car, a Mercedes Benz. Since then, I have bought 10 cars. I will not repeat any article of clothing now. I apologize to everyone who mocked me and my family. Being able to answer quietly. I feel like I’ve lived all my dreams,” he smiles.
Affordable education for millions
Abhinav saw YouTube as a way to reach more students in remote areas. He provides free books and materials for later reference to students who cannot afford education.
“I’ve taught the entire course three times on YouTube. For those who don’t want to study for free, purchase courses on our mobile application, where we also offer some courses for free. If someone doesn’t have enough money, we never question them and don’t let them in (whatever they have),” he added.
For example, one of his students, Naresh Guguloth, who hails from Hyderabad, cannot afford expensive course materials. “My father is a farmer. Due to my financial situation, I could only pay 2,000 for the course on the mobile application, although the course is for 5,000. Generally, we charge as low as Rs 10,000 and up to Rs 16,000 for the same course as other institutes. Apart from affordability, Abhinaya Sir teaches concepts through various methods. “After studying on YouTube, I managed to pass the preliminary exam,” says the 27-year-old. Uttam India.
Acting like Naresh, he has more than 2.5 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. “During this journey, I have never seen education as a business. Structured curriculum and teaching alone can revolutionize education. Money comes after hard work. I believe that a teacher can never be a good businessman, and a businessman can never be a good teacher. Even after retirement, I will continue teaching on YouTube for free,’ he says.
Edited by Divya Sethu