by Babra Wani
SRINAGAR: Lal Chowk turned into an unusual academic hotspot on Friday as hundreds of young aspirants gathered to collect free books for competitive exams under an initiative led by well-known Delhi-based SSC educator, Rakesh Yadav. The popular teacher, who has coached lakhs of students across India through his online and offline platforms, has launched a Kashmir-focused outreach to make SSC examinations more accessible and more popular among youth in the Valley.
Students could be seen lining up in small groups as volunteers distributed study material. According to those manning the distribution point, “400 plus students were here since morning.” Video clips circulating on social media show streams of young aspirants arriving in waves, though by late afternoon, only a few remained.
The initiative, students say, is entirely funded and dispatched from Delhi. “They sent these books from there,” explained a volunteer, who himself is an aspirant preparing for the SSC exam. Each student received a four-book set, though today’s distribution was limited to Accounts, while General Studies and other subjects will be provided in a later phase.
The teacher’s team had originally given free coaching worth approximately Rs 1,500–2,000 to students enrolled in a special Kashmir batch. “There were 800 students in that batch,” a volunteer confirmed. According to them, Yadav trained all 800 students free of cost, specifically to support aspirants from the Valley, where coaching facilities for SSC and central recruitment exams remain limited.
The current book distribution marks the second step in his outreach. Students say Yadav’s goal is to “create awareness about SSC exams in Kashmir,” encouraging more young people to consider stable government careers at a time of rising unemployment.
Many students receiving the books are first-time SSC aspirants, preparing for exams like CGL, CHSL, CPO, and others. The volunteers are themselves preparing for the examination, noting that the study material covers core subjects such as Advanced Maths, Arithmetic, Reasoning, and Practice Papers essential for clearing the national-level tests.
A significant detail that emerged is that the books were reprinted exclusively in English for the Kashmir batch. “These books are in Hindi and English. But we told them we want them only in English because we don’t know Hindi in Kashmir. So they printed them again,” shared one of the distributors, highlighting an often-overlooked language gap that affects competitive exam preparation in the region.
Despite the large turnout, the team said this is the only location in Kashmir where books were distributed. More material—especially General Studies—is expected in the coming weeks once printing is completed.
While Rakesh Yadav himself was not present—his students confirmed he remains in Delhi—the impact of his initiative was clearly visible in the enthusiasm at Lal Chowk. As one volunteer concluded with a smile, “We will distribute again. This is just the beginning.”
The SSC exam generally refers to the competitive tests conducted by the Staff Selection Commission, the central government body responsible for recruiting candidates for Group B and C posts such as clerks, inspectors and assistants across various ministries and departments. These include popular exams like CGL, CHSL, MTS and CPO, which assess candidates in General Intelligence, General Awareness, English and Mathematics. In some contexts, “SSC” may also denote the Secondary School Certificate, the Class 10 board examination but for most job aspirants, it is synonymous with the Staff Selection Commission’s recruitment tests for government jobs.
