Opinion | Why 'Free Coaching' Sounds Good But Seldom Works

Updated: Sep 02, 2026 18:50 pm IST Published On Sep 02, 2026 18:50 pm IST Last Updated On Sep 02, 2026 18:50 pm IST

Published On Sep 02, 2026 18:50 pm IST

Last Updated On Sep 02, 2026 18:50 pm IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, announced that the government would provide free online coaching to students preparing for competitive examinations. The programme, according to the Prime Minister, would use India's digital public infrastructure and teaching talent, reduce the financial burden on families and allow students to prepare while staying at home.

The concerns that the announcement seeks to address are real. The cost of coaching has increased, students routinely move to coaching hubs, and many parents believe that not enrolling their child in a coaching institute puts them at a disadvantage. However, while free online coaching sounds promising, its ability to deliver what conventional coaching does remains questionable.

The Coaching Industry

The private coaching industry in India has grown rapidly over the last two decades. It is a parallel education system, specialising in entrance examinations for medicine, engineering, management, government services and several other careers. A study on the growth of the coaching business in India pointed out that it has grown enough to cast a shadow on the formal education system.

India's private coaching and test-preparation industry is estimated at roughly Rs 58,000 to Rs 1,00,000 crore, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% to 14%, with online and hybrid coaching segments surging even faster at over 15%.

The latest Comprehensive Modular Survey on Education in 2025 found that nearly a third of all Indian students had taken private coaching during the academic year. The proportion was 30.7% in urban areas and 25.5% in rural India. At the higher-secondary level, urban households spent an average of Rs 9,950 per student annually on private coaching, compared with Rs 4,548 in rural areas. However, free online coaching by the government is not exactly a new idea. The PM eVIDYA platform already provides IITPAL lectures prepared by IIT professors for JEE and NEET. The National Testing Agency's E-Abhyas offers test practice. SATHEE, developed by the........

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