Bridging the gap: In Conversation with Unacademy Educator Sudarshan Gurjar
UPSC CSE Educator Sudarshan Gurjar turned his life’s bad experiences around and converted them into valuable lessons. To mark Unacademy’s fifth anniversary, we chronicle the journey of Top Educators such as Mr Gurjar. Here’s his story.
Born in Charkheda, a small village near Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, UPSC CSE Educator Sudarshan Gurjar had a pretty migratory childhood. Wanting the best education for their child, Mr Gurjar’s family moved him from a local school in Charkedha to a bigger school nearby and then Nashik, Bhopal and finally Delhi. This experience of moving schools led him to gain incremental exposure to various kinds of educational institutes and teaching patterns. He believes that who he is as an Educator today is the collective manifestation of his experiences and learnings, both positive and negative.
“My father was a government school teacher in Charkheda. When I was in Class 3, he moved me to a bigger school nearby. Although I was to be in Class 3, the Principle there assumed that because I studied in a village, I needed to repeat Class 2 and match up to the students from the city. This incident bothered my father because he knew that it was unnecessary.”
Mr Gurjar’s father acted upon this negative experience and decided to build his own school in Charkheda. His motivation was simple — a child need not travel outside of Charkheda for a good education. “My father has always been my inspiration. He did not wait around for someone to change the system. He did it himself.” Even today, 20 years later, Paramhans Convent School started by Mr Gurjar’s family, is a matter of pride for the people of Charkheda and is an inspiration for Mr Gurjar to make and not seek change.
Being a government employee, Mr Gurjar’s father noticed how he, despite being an Educator for many years, had to report to the Administration Officer in the area. He knew that being an officer brings with it a fair share of responsibilities including making decisions at a policy-making level and he wanted his son to be able to make those decisions. Mr Gurjar mirrored this desire and went on to study in Delhi. “I got into a very reputed coaching institute there and it was huge for me but I couldn’t understand the Educators much. They only spoke in English and when I asked one doubt in Geography, I was humiliated. I was told that I cannot ask basic questions.” This experience was transformative for Mr Gurjar who knew that there were more Learners like him in the class who were humiliated for not knowing something.
Today, it has been over 5 years since Mr Gurjar has started teaching professionally and he vouches that he has never let that incident slip his mind. He ensures that all his Learners feel comfortable and are treated equally. According to Mr Gurjar, there are two types of Educators — one who assumes that Learners know everything and the other who focuses on the 40% of the class who do not dare to ask questions or do not have their basics right. “I fall into the latter category. I begin from the basics every time. It barely takes 10 minutes of my time and I know that those 10 minutes are an equaliser. It brings everyone on the same page.”
While Mr Gurjar asserts that he has been moulded by his experiences, he adds that he continues to learn and use those experiences positively. He has found the pulse of his Learners and continues to dominate the UPSC CSE-GS Category on Unacademy. When he started his career as an Educator, he had 7 Learners and was paid Rs 70 per hour. He slowly graduated to a bigger coaching centre and began teaching 150–200 Learners. “ I was teaching in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh for 2.5 years and during that period I must have reached about 500 Learners but as soon as I joined Unacademy, I could go beyond my geographical area and reach more students.”
Today, 2.5 years since Mr Gurjar’s journey began on Unacademy, he has already touched the lives of about 2 Lakh Learners and has been consistently ranked among the Top 3 Educators in his category. “ While I studied to become an IAS officer, I could not succeed. Finally, after a few attempts, I decided to teach because I had collected this wealth of knowledge throughout my preparation and I did not want it to go to waste. Besides, through personal experience I also knew what the gaps were and how to bridge them,” says Mr Gurjar, adding, “ Now when I look back, I knew that the reason I did not succeed was that destiny had another plan for me. I would not be here had I not failed. “
Since joining Unacademy, Mr Gurjar has dedicated his entire time and passion to teach on the platform. His enthusiasm was at its best when during his initial days, he made over 100 videos in just a matter of 5 days. He is revered widely by Learners and fellow Educators equally and he believes that the respect he gets is hard-earned. If you work hard, people will like you and respect you.
“I truly believe that I was meant to teach and I love what I am doing. Nothing can change my desire to bridge the gap that some Learners experience and make education a great equalizer. There is still a long way to go because not all Learners come from similar backgrounds but I know that there is hope and that hope is enough to keep me going,” says Mr Gurjar, adding that he is as passionate about teaching as he was 5 years ago.
At Unacademy, we cherish passionate Educators like Mr Sudarshan Gurjar and we are indebted to them for helping us further our mission to democratise quality education. This interview is a part of our 5-part anniversary special blog series that brings our Top Educators into the limelight and allows Learners to know them outside the classroom.
