In 2022, physics teacher Mayank Kumar moved from his home in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor to Kota in Rajasthan. An edtech unicorn offered him an annual package of INR 32 Lakh per year and free accommodation in Kota, renowned as the coaching centre capital of India.

Kumar, who taught physics to engineering aspirants, said several teachers like him made the journey from their home towns to coaching hubs in 2020–21 and even in 2022-23. Kota, in particular, became a battleground for teachers as edtech companies and other legacy players looked to on-board ‘star’ educators.

“The salaries being offered touched sky-high levels and the teachers were literally being poached from local coaching institutes. Some friends of mine even became celebrities on social media and “crorepatis in no time,” he told Inc42.

The edtech poaching wars had also intensified as startups looked to compete with legacy coaching institutes in test prep space. Some teachers even earned as much as INR 1 Cr per year, as we reported back then.

But the hype has now well and truly fizzled out. Academicians like Kumar have returned to their hometowns and are back on the job hunt as edtech startups cut costs across the board. “Today, even annual pay of INR 10 Lakh is good enough,” Kumar says.

50% Decline In Edtech Salaries

Data sourced from talent recruitment firms Xpheno and CIEL HR Services shows that the salaries of most key edtech roles across various departments have seen as much as a 50% drop from the highs of 2020-2021.

“The salary packages in edtech have since 2022 undergone corrections and calibrations to return to normalised scales. The workforce optimisation and continued cost shedding has seen job offer packages shrink by 30% to 80% compared to the previous high of 2021 and........

© Inc42