Unethical practices of Byjus and it's impact on education

[RumbaMon19]

Just like Byju's, There is a new company fooling people now. It is WhiteHatJR. ( Yeah, I know the name sounds shit)their TVC are pretty common, With advertisements on youtube. But in relity, they are fooling People.

Here is a comparison to what they say and what they give:-

What they advertise:-​	What they give:-​
1. Learn "coding" (Mind the word coding) at the age of 5-7	They are teaching MIT app inventor, which does not include any code. Just blocks. Which is not "coding"
2. Create a new and innovative app.	Seriously, Like if one visits their website, Half of it is filled with default examples of MIT app Inventor. And the remaining are Calculators. really?
3. Get Job at google/Microsoft and other big firms etc.	a.This is pretty much not possible, as common sense says, 5 year olds, will at least take 15-17 years for their graduation and all, and by then, what is the guarantee that the blocks which they learnt will be functional? b. Google may hire people without degree, but will never hire 5 year old who know nothing but just a few blocks. c. Does the certificate which they give at the end of course of any value? It ain't a degree certificate

Pricing:-

These guys have varying plans.
Basic plans:- 349$ or 22K for teaching Variables and basic algorithms (Pretty useless, Huh?) And this thing is even taught to fifth class students. And as told by my brothers, They were taught this in class 5.

More expensive plan :- 1799$ or 132K for introduction to mit app inventor and for teaching to make 1 app which will be available on playstore under there name.

Most expensive Plan:- 5399$ or Rs. 396k ( Expensive asf boi!!) for complete tutorial of MIT app inventor.

And the irony is, One can learn MIT app inventor on their own through Its own course(MIT app inventor's) on there homepage, So why pay these fraudsters?

Here are some Reviews from my neighbor's and relatives who fell into this trap:-

"these people only gives access to first three classes, and then complain of network issues, even on 150MBPS plan. " This was reported by 3 people

"The instructor was not properly trained and what they thought was not what they offered" Reported by 2 people

And one last thing, Or the major reasons for me writing this thread:-
1) My brother's school is forcing him to take this course, against his will. They will teach python basics to him. for a price of 20k, 6 classes.
2) Now they have a scheme, If u refer to 5 of your friends and they buy the course, You get a free MacBook ( Not the latest one, but MacBook Air 2017 edition) Now this scheme is enough to tell how much profit these guys are earning. And yes, On referring to 100+ friends you get a Tesla.

I got to know about this scheme, Because suddenly, My friends whom I have not even wished for ~7 years suddenly pops and messages about this, And asks me if I want it for my brother.
3) I really get pissed when I see their TVC, The Gardener Telling the boys parents about it. and,
4) They have got the whole youtube covered with their adverts.(these types of fake prodigy apps pisses me off)


But is it really needed at this age?
There have been many such companies into existence, But these are not needed any more. The modern CBSE curriculum has got all the necessary coding stuff beginning from class 5th. by the end of 10th, they will be able to make basic ( and pretty good if the teacher is friendly) Programs in C++, Visual Basic, MIT app inventor as it is evenly distributed in their syllabus.

Also, CBSE has decided to include AI and ML in syllabus of Class 11th And 12th. So there is no need to enroll for these fraud programs

If you look for its reviews, Most of them will be on quora, And the answer with most upvotes will be "SpOnSoReD"

 

[chimera201]

Microtransactions, DLC, season pass, gambling/addiction mechanics in education

 

[TheSloth]

....

And one last thing, Or the major reasons for me writing this thread:-
1) My brother's school is forcing him to take this course, against his will. They will teach python basics to him. for a price of 20k, 6 classes.
2) Now they have a scheme, If u refer to 5 of your friends and they buy the course, You get a free MacBook ( Not the latest one, but MacBook Air 2017 edition) Now this scheme is enough to tell how much profit these guys are earning. And yes, On referring to 100+ friends you get a Tesla.
....

So your brother had to take the course or parents/guardians had the rights to deny this extra class?

 

[RumbaMon19]

So your brother had to take the course or parents/guardians had the rights to deny this extra class?

Of course they had, But the school was forcing as if, He will not do it, They will not give him his internals. But it ain't a board class, So internals don't matter. After all, They maybe making a nice commission off every enrollment.

 

[quicky008]

May we know the name of that nasty school and its location?

 

[RumbaMon19]

May we know the name of that nasty school and its location?

Ryan International School, Mohali, Punjab. ( Not that branch where that kid was murdered 2 years back )

 

[Æsoteric Positron]

Just like Byju's, There is a new company fooling people now. It is WhiteHatJR. ( Yeah, I know the name sounds shit)their TVC are pretty common, With advertisements on youtube. But in relity, they are fooling People.

Here is a comparison to what they say and what they give:-

What they advertise:-​	What they give:-​
1. Learn "coding" (Mind the word coding) at the age of 5-7	They are teaching MIT app inventor, which does not include any code. Just blocks. Which is not "coding"
2. Create a new and innovative app.	Seriously, Like if one visits their website, Half of it is filled with default examples of MIT app Inventor. And the remaining are Calculators. really?
3. Get Job at google/Microsoft and other big firms etc.	a.This is pretty much not possible, as common sense says, 5 year olds, will at least take 15-17 years for their graduation and all, and by then, what is the guarantee that the blocks which they learnt will be functional? b. Google may hire people without degree, but will never hire 5 year old who know nothing but just a few blocks. c. Does the certificate which they give at the end of course of any value? It ain't a degree certificate

Pricing:-

These guys have varying plans.
Basic plans:- 349$ or 22K for teaching Variables and basic algorithms (Pretty useless, Huh?) And this thing is even taught to fifth class students. And as told by my brothers, They were taught this in class 5.

More expensive plan :- 1799$ or 132K for introduction to mit app inventor and for teaching to make 1 app which will be available on playstore under there name.

Most expensive Plan:- 5399$ or Rs. 396k ( Expensive asf boi!!) for complete tutorial of MIT app inventor.

And the irony is, One can learn MIT app inventor on their own through Its own course(MIT app inventor's) on there homepage, So why pay these fraudsters?

Here are some Reviews from my neighbor's and relatives who fell into this trap:-

"these people only gives access to first three classes, and then complain of network issues, even on 150MBPS plan. " This was reported by 3 people

"The instructor was not properly trained and what they thought was not what they offered" Reported by 2 people

And one last thing, Or the major reasons for me writing this thread:-
1) My brother's school is forcing him to take this course, against his will. They will teach python basics to him. for a price of 20k, 6 classes.
2) Now they have a scheme, If u refer to 5 of your friends and they buy the course, You get a free MacBook ( Not the latest one, but MacBook Air 2017 edition) Now this scheme is enough to tell how much profit these guys are earning. And yes, On referring to 100+ friends you get a Tesla.

I got to know about this scheme, Because suddenly, My friends whom I have not even wished for ~7 years suddenly pops and messages about this, And asks me if I want it for my brother.
3) I really get pissed when I see their TVC, The Gardener Telling the boys parents about it. and,
4) They have got the whole youtube covered with their adverts.(these types of fake prodigy apps pisses me off)


But is it really needed at this age?
There have been many such companies into existence, But these are not needed any more. The modern CBSE curriculum has got all the necessary coding stuff beginning from class 5th. by the end of 10th, they will be able to make basic ( and pretty good if the teacher is friendly) Programs in C++, Visual Basic, MIT app inventor as it is evenly distributed in their syllabus.

Also, CBSE has decided to include AI and ML in syllabus of Class 11th And 12th. So there is no need to enroll for these fraud programs

If you look for its reviews, Most of them will be on quora, And the answer with most upvotes will be "SpOnSoReD"

Wew lol. That's some seriously detailed rant !


Well, the pricing is ridiculous! I just assumed it was free, and they made profit through ads, how wrong I was.

If someone wanta learn coding, well he just gotta ask on the internet(or the Digit Form). Well there are many free coding resources I myself can link to. About the coding in school stuff, my school didn't include much tho, just Qbasic and html, with C++(deprecated) and python in 11th and 12th (if someone chooses CS as a optional that is). But compelling a student (ur brother) to buy another course which is not taught by school is highly illegal and unethical imo.

 

[quicky008]

when we made our start with coding,it was mostly by reading textbooks-i think this practice is no longer followed by the know-it-all kids and their parents of today.

Reading text books is considered a boring and non-intuitive way of learning nowadays-lots of schools recommend text books for their students' curriculum but hardly does any student bother to go through them anyway,relying instead on youtube videos or notes obtained from private tutors for learning a particular subject/topic.

Shrewd companies like white hat,by jus etc are simply trying to capitalize on this situation by making clueless parents and their wards spend unnecessary money on worthless online courses which are practically good for nothing.One could learn those things for free(or for a very nominal price)by reading a good book on the subject instead.Sometimes even teachers discourage their students from reading books and insist that they should follow their class-notes instead(probably to bolster their income from tuitions),even though ironically its their very school which had recommended the book in the first place(Again to make money in the form of commission from the massive sales of these books).

They seem to forget that a generation of people grew up reading books when there was no internet/online teaching nonsense and they turned out just fine-so why they don't let their kids do the same thing is beyond me.

 

[RumbaMon19]

Wew lol. That's some seriously detailed rant !


Well, the pricing is ridiculous! I just assumed it was free, and they made profit through ads, how wrong I was.

If someone wanta learn coding, well he just gotta ask on the internet(or the Digit Form). Well there are many free coding resources I myself can link to. About the coding in school stuff, my school didn't include much tho, just Qbasic and html, with C++(deprecated) and python in 11th and 12th (if someone chooses CS as a optional that is). But compelling a student (ur brother) to buy another course which is not taught by school is highly illegal and unethical imo.

Actually it is. But can't do anything, as for his senior secondary, he will have to change his school anyways, so it just 1.5 years more.

As far as coding is concerned, I tried teaching him python, but he has more interest in chemistry. Which I never liked. So, I don't think he will ever require coding and all. (Though he likes destruction more)

when we made our start with coding,it was mostly by reading textbooks-i think this practice is no longer followed by the know-it-all kids and their parents of today.

Reading text books is considered a boring and non-intuitive way of learning nowadays-lots of schools recommend text books for their students' curriculum but hardly does any student bother to go through them anyway,relying instead on youtube videos or notes obtained from private tutors for learning a particular subject/topic.

Shrewd companies like white hat,by jus etc are simply trying to capitalize on this situation by making clueless parents and their wards spend unnecessary money on worthless online courses which are practically good for nothing.One could learn those things for free(or for a very nominal price)by reading a good book on the subject instead.Sometimes even teachers discourage their students from reading books and insist that they should follow their class-notes instead(probably to bolster their income from tuitions),even though ironically its their very school which had recommended the book in the first place(Again to make money in the form of commission from the massive sales of these books).

They seem to forget that a generation of people grew up reading books when there was no internet/online teaching nonsense and they turned out just fine-so why they don't let their kids do the same thing is beyond me.

Yupp. Due to all this digitalisation, and the fake hypes of these brands, parents don't consider book. Which is the biggest mistake.

Learning through all these modern techniques make children more like bots and not humans. The curiosity will finish in them, and will end up educated piece of stones. Teaching concept is not all, they must learn to use the concept. And these modern companies don't make children use their brain. It is more like spoon-feeding.

And yes, I am sure Those know it all Kidos of this gen will 100% land into nothing. Remember, "too many chefs, spoil the dish, And spoilt dish goes to dustbin'' this old phrase holds true tI'll now.

 

[Vyom]

Byjus victim in action:

https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/iv5j7d

 

[quicky008]

The thing I don't understand is why are private corporations like reddit, quora etc collaborating with these fraudsters? What do they stand to gain by supporting their dubious claims and assist in persecuting/harassing ordinary people who only want to point out their malpractices?

Do they even thoroughly investigate the claims made by byjus against somebody before deciding to terminate or suspend their accounts? How can byjus have such a strong sway over these companies as to force them to do their bidding whenever they feel like?This is really outrageous!

 

[Æsoteric Positron]

Actually it is. But can't do anything, as for his senior secondary, he will have to change his school anyways, so it just 1.5 years more.

Yeah, government even banned any other books other than NCERT a while back(for both gov. and private) and there were raids in schools to find out if someone carried a supplementary book.

If a supplementary book was found a photo of the student along with the book was clicked and the school had to pay a fine. It was bcoz parents said that school was compelling the students to buy other books and making it mandatory, and the hefty price of the books put a burden on parents.
Whether the call was to genuinely help the parents, or because the government wanted to sell its NCERT books more, or bcoz it was to make the poor parents happy (whose votes matter the most) is up for debate.

But the point is, considering THAT, the situation of the school making the subscription to white hat jr(22k, in contrast to at most 8k for all the supplementary books of even higher classes) mandatory seems more fishy and illegal now.

chemistry. Which I never liked.

I feel ya, tho we didn't had chemistry in 4th.

for his senior secondary, he will have to change his school anyways, so it just 1.5 years more.

Oh, school is till 5th only?

Yupp. Due to all this digitalisation, and the fake hypes of these brands, parents don't consider book. Which is the biggest mistake.

Learning through all these modern techniques make children more like bots and not humans. The curiosity will finish in them, and will end up educated piece of stones. Teaching concept is not all, they must learn to use the concept. And these modern companies don't make children use their brain. It is more like spoon-feeding.

And yes, I am sure Those know it all Kidos of this gen will 100% land into nothing. Remember, "too many chefs, spoil the dish, And spoilt dish goes to dustbin'' this old phrase holds true tI'll now.

Umm.............. I am not too sure about them, learning from good youtube videos and online courses, is as , if not more effective than books imo. Sure this is a case that makes everyone sad about the dangers of online courses, but I think we should not generalize this into EVERYTHING. Good sources like khan academy do such a great job of teaching khan academy, that my ol' teachers cannot ever hope to achieve. I dunno about coding, but I learned blender online, and I learnt much more than I could with a FastTrack, I could practice as I learn which would be not possible , or at least an inconvenience , when learning with a book. I take a not so radical approach to learning medium, there is no reason to consider one is good while other is bad, learning from book is ok and good for teaching in school, but we all know learning with the machine online interactively, is far more intuitive.

Also about kiddos being useless, well, if social media and the likes don't ruin them, I can be 100% sure that natural selection, and more likely artificial selection and advancement will make them do to us (not ur bros gen, but ur child's gen) what we did to our elders. Sure, many will consider new gen as 'aaj kal ke baache kisi kaam ke nahi' but , well, when the time comes, the new gen always knows more than the older (in the current field only mind you), whether we like it or not.

 

[Æsoteric Positron]

Byjus victim in action:

https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/iv5j7d

Moral of the story? Don't name urself whitehat sr, just like you don't name ur company green apple. They got such an ezy reason, to ban him lol.

 

[RumbaMon19]

I feel ya, tho we didn't had chemistry in 4th.

He is not in 4th, he is in 9th. Actually, yes they are teaching those blocks to all classes. (Even +1 and +2)

Oh, school is till 5th only?

No, It is till 12th, But here +1 and +2 faculty is sh*t. In my place, government schools are better than these Hi-Fi private schools. Though they don't have AC and all, But still they have best faculty, due to which cutoff usually goes to 95%.

Also about kiddos being useless, well, if social media and the likes don't ruin them, I can be 100% sure that natural selection, and more likely artificial selection and advancement will make them do to us (not ur bros gen, but ur child's gen) what we did to our elders. Sure, many will consider new gen as 'aaj kal ke baache kisi kaam ke nahi' but , well, when the time comes, the new gen always knows more than the older (in the current field only mind you), whether we like it or not.

Social media has really F*cked up kids. Even I dont use instagram and facebook, but my brother is using it because all his friends use it. And when I saw his feed, I was surprised to see that what his classmates were upto. All this digitization has led parents to allow kids to use mobile phones, And now, When it is evening time, children are found playing PUBG(RiP) in the park.

whitehat sr

Well, how did they got it copyright? Whitehat is a term used for cybersecurity experts who refrain from illegal stuff

he thing I don't understand is why are private corporations like reddit, quora etc

This quora thing is now sh*t. Everything is sponsored now.

 

[RumbaMon19]

Here is an update.

Made me laugh at the noob teacher. Thinks that data is stored in imaginary clouds with no hardware lol. And her way of explaining

 

[quicky008]

this is pure gold-it wont be surprising if this too gets removed soon.

Cloud is imaginary space-rofl.

I seriously doubt that this teacher has any computer science background-it looks like she is a complete noob.

She is constantly trying avoid answering such a simple question by giving all sorts of lame excuses.

 

[RumbaMon19]

this is pure gold-it wont be surprising if this too gets removed soon.

Cloud is imaginary space-rofl.

I seriously doubt that this teacher has any computer science background-it looks like she is a complete noob.

She is constantly trying avoid answering such a simple question by giving all sorts of lame excuses.

To know the quality of teachers, Refer this

 

[Æsoteric Positron]

Made me laugh at the noob teacher. Thinks that data is stored in imaginary clouds with no hardware lol. And her way of explaining

Well, to be fair, this seems like what a student in 5th grade would say, so maybe she is only 5th pass?

 

[Vyom]

The guy have gotten major traction on reddit:

*www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/j4yqdh/update_on_byjus_the_internet_mafia_and_whitehatjr

 

[RumbaMon19]

*www.forbesindia.com/article/take-o...-curious-case-of-disappearing-dissent/63627/1

Luckily, Forbes has made article on it. Try to share as much as possible. Hope the efforts will make an impact.