Pioneer of Kota coaching industry V K Bansal dies; students & educationists pay respects

A pioneer of the Kota coaching industry, Vinod Kumar Bansal, passed away on Monday morning after a prolonged illness, his son said. He was 71.

Bansal, the founder of Bansal Classes, had been suffering from multiple diseases, including muscular dystrophy, his son Samir Bansal said, adding that he also tested COVID-19 positive, but four days back, his report came out negative. 

Amit Purohit, founder of Fantasy Akhada wrote, "Every time you see the Byju’s ad on TV over the next few days, take some time off and pray that the legendary Bansal Sir’s soul RIP. The whole education revolution that we see today was started years back by this man on a wheelchair! Thank you #Bansalsir for showing direction!" [sic]

Many students and educationists took to their Twitter handle to mourn his demise. One user wrote, "Kota earlier used to known as Industrial city in 80s because of JK like plants, Bansal Sir was engineer there also. But when he started teaching Kota transformed itself to Education City. An end of Era for Kota in true words." [sic]

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla condoled the death of Bansal and said his death was an irreparable loss for the entire academic fraternity.

"The demise of Bansal Classes director V K Bansal ji is an irreparable loss for the entire academic fraternity. He dedicated all his life to the education and progress of students. Thousands of students taught by him are making India proud globally. May his soul rest in peace," Birla, an MP from Kota - Bundi, tweeted in Hindi.   

"He took his last breath around 3.30 am on Monday morning at a hospital here, where he had been undergoing treatment for last 15 days," Samir said. 

He said Bansal's lungs had already been destroyed due to muscular dystrophy and COVID-19 infection further worsened his condition.  

Condoling his death, Allen Career Institute director Naveen Maheshwari said V K Bansal was a great mathematician and pioneer of coaching classes in Kota and the space vacated with his death is hard to fill. 

Reactions

Bansal sir of Bansal classes is no more. The man was an institution. Many purists scoffed at him but he, much before the days of edtech unicorns, explained concepts very clearly with his colleagues. Started an industry. I cleared JEE on my first attempt because of him. Om Shanti.

— Harsh Gupta Madhusudan (@harshmadhusudan) May 3, 2021

Bansal sir was truly the one biggest inflection point for several in our generation. He gave us the confidence to dream big and trained us to win. He jumpstarted the journey for me as well as my 2 brothers.. our families and future generations will always be in debt. 🙏🤲😢 https://t.co/ZDPHNVOcKr

— Pratik Agarwal (@_pagarwal) May 3, 2021

It came as a shock to all of us. We have all lost an icon - Bansal Sir 🙏. Throughout his life, Bansal Sir has been exceptional - He, with his dedication, efforts, student first approach, has set records for others to follow and achieve. I pray that God rest his soul in peace. pic.twitter.com/jRcVhpw2N8

— Pramod Maheshwari (@Pramod_CPKota) May 3, 2021

Bansal sir played the most pivotal role in my life. Some students are bright, but many are like me, who are not, and for them a great teacher can make a massive difference.

I am the product of @BansalClasses
and thousands more like me

Genesis of #KotaFactory

Om Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tcHDm2ufOs

— Gagan Goyal (@Goyal4Gagan) May 3, 2021

There was a time when 1 out of every 4 students in IIT was from Kota. Vinod Kumar Bansal (an alum of IIT BHU) played a key role in driving this phenomenon. I heard multiple stories of Mr. Bansal from seniors, juniors, and batch mate , Bansal Sir is no more now.#RIP pic.twitter.com/beD5qHmrTV

— Rohit (@SandawaRohit) May 3, 2021

It came as a shock to all of us. We have all lost an icon - VK Bansal Sir 🙏. Throughout his life, Bansal Sir has been exceptional - He, with his dedication, efforts, student first approach, has set records for others to follow and achieve. I pray that God rest his soul in peace. pic.twitter.com/mcJ40P5r13

— Maqsood Ahmed (@maqsood_amd) May 3, 2021

One of the best teacher, I had got a chance to study from. You will always be alive in our memories, Bansal sir. RIP. Om Shanti 🙏🏻 https://t.co/A9RT8mLjP4

— Vivek Jaiswal (@vivjais) May 3, 2021

Every time you see the Byju’s ad on TV over the next few days, take some time off and pray that the legendary Bansal Sir’s soul RIP. The whole education revolution that we see today was started years back by this man on a wheelchair! Thank you #Bansalsir for showing direction! pic.twitter.com/ajwPgbKRaV

— Amit Purohit (@purohita87) May 3, 2021

Kota earlier used to known as Industrial city in 80s because of JK like plants, Bansal Sir was engineer there also.
But when he started teaching Kota transformed itself to Education City.

An end of Era for Kota in true words. https://t.co/5gMXvj6iSw

— Shivank Gautam | शिवांक गौतम (@shivankgtm) May 3, 2021

(with PTI inputs)