Constantly increasing tension among students preparing for competitive exams. Then the government is worried about the suicides of such students from cities known as coaching hubs. The central government is soon considering enacting a national law to regulate the coaching sector and redesigning the entrance exams to reduce the role of private coaching in JEE, NEET-UG and CUET-UG.
A 9-member panel was formed under the chairmanship of Higher Secondary Secretary Vineet Joshi in June 2025 regarding the roles of coaching centers in the country. This panel is going to submit its report to the Education Ministry soon. But before that, according to a report published on Times of India, the panel believes that the problem of dependence on coaching cannot be solved merely by investigating institutions or imposing fines on misleading advertisements.
According to the panel, this situation is not only due to commercial practices of coaching centers but also due to reasons like design of entrance test, low trust on board marks, dummy schooling and starting exam preparation from an early age. In such a situation, the panel has suggested that such changes should be made in the pattern of competitive examinations that it will be difficult to achieve success only through coaching. School-based learning process should be promoted. The panel believes that the coaching culture has led to excessive competition, mental stress and financial burden among students.
From action against dummy schools to recommendations for transparency
The panel has also recommended the Education Ministry to prepare a regulatory framework at the national level for coaching institutes. Under this, a demand has been made to set standards related to fees, basic facilities, student safety, mental health support and transparency. May go. The report also expressed concern over the “dummy school” culture. Such students remain dependent on coaching instead of going to school.
The panel says that transparency is the biggest imperative for improving the coaching sector. There should be transparency about faculty qualifications and enrollment as well as success rates. Misleading advertisements of success should be stopped. The objective of the panel is to attack the ‘topper-claim model’. In this, the institutes advertise the rank and selection, but do not tell whether the candidate was a long-term classroom student, a test-series user, a scholarship student or joined after the results were declared.
In its initial draft, the panel has asked the Education Ministry to consider setting a limit on daily coaching hours for school-going students. In particular, a limit of two to three hours has been proposed. It is also said that depth coaching should be started only after 12th. Use of real-time biometric attendance has also been suggested to tackle the problem of dummy schooling.
How did the coaching sector become such a big industry?
Amidst the increasing competition in competitive examinations like medical and engineering in the country, paper leak controversy, increasing pressure on students, the debate has once again intensified as to how the tuition which was started for the betterment of children from a small room in a village has transformed into a coaching industry. Then a business worth Rs 58 thousand crore was created. This business is expected to reach more than Rs 1 lakh crore between 2028 and 2030.
In the year 2000, when the craze of IIT and Medical started, coaching institutes opened rapidly. The coaching which started from one room for 4 children, reached corporate coaching, online education platforms and companies listed in the stock market. The entire nature of coaching has changed in 20 to 25 years. Cities like Kota, Delhi and Kanpur, Prayagraj developed into big hubs of coaching.
1 in every 4 students of the country takes coaching
According to the National Sample Survey, 1 in every 4 i.e. 27 percent students in the country take some form of private coaching. If we look at the numbers, the number of students taking coaching in India is more than 7 crores. 25.5 percent people in rural areas and 30.7 percent people in urban areas turn to coaching. At the secondary level i.e. 9th to 12th class, 37.8 percent students go to coaching and at the higher level i.e. 10th to 12th class, 37 percent students go to coaching.
The size of India’s coaching industry has exceeded Rs 58 thousand crores. By 2028, the estimated market size will be more than Rs 1,33,995 crores. The growth rate of coaching during 2023-30 is estimated at 14.07%. A student is spending Rs 70,000 to Rs 2 lakh in a year for medical, engineering as well as other competitive examinations.
Why did the coaching industry grow?
According to experts, there is a difference in the quality of government and private schools. Then limited seats in competitive examinations, increasing expectations of parents and examination-based education system have given a huge boost to the coaching industry. Many parents along with students believe that without coaching, success will not be achieved. In such a situation, a parallel education system was formed along with coaching and schooling. Then the option became a compulsion and kept getting boosted.
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