60,000 crore rupees. That's around the size of the tutoring economy in India. It extends from the Kota and Delhi classroom centers to the expanding internet market for test-preparation courses, subscriptions, and one-on-one coaching. The broader coaching market is estimated to be worth between 58,000 crore and 70,000 crore after the Prime Minister's declaration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's August 15 declaration must be considered in this context.
One noteworthy announcement made by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort was that students studying for exams like NEET, JEE, and UPSC would receive free online coaching.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a Gen Z-style Instagram reel to introduce a team headed by Nandan Nilekani, which included a former ISRO chairman and the director of IIT Madras.
The committee's job is to solve issues with India's examination system.
But the debate goes beyond whether coaching can be provided without charge.
BIGGER QUESTIONS, FREE COACHING
India's examination system and coaching classrooms have grown increasingly intertwined over time. Millions of pupils, many from several states, make up the basis of the coaching industry, which stretches from the nation's capital and Kota to developing hubs like Sikar.
In Kota, classrooms account for over 10% of the entire coaching industry's revenue. Coaching is the center of the city's economy.
Since many of these students are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is difficult to overlook their presence in the coaching environment. Private preparation has evolved from being a benefit for certain students to, in many circumstances, being a parallel education system as rivalry for a small number of places has increased.
The government now suggests creating an alternative using India's digital public infrastructure.
In order to ensure that access to exam preparation is not solely based on geography or household wealth, the objective is to unite students, teachers, and learning materials onto a single platform.
This idea also calls into question the boundaries of technology. Although a lecture that has been videotaped can be distributed across the nation, learning is not solely based on content.
Teaching, practice, feedback, resolving doubts, and, frequently, ongoing human mentoring are all necessary.
The announcement also included a goal to train one crore young Indians in artificial intelligence over the course of the following year, connecting education with the evolving needs of the workforce.
Therefore, access alone is not the bigger test for policymakers. The question is whether the state can create a system that matches the structure, responsibility, practice, and direction that students currently demand from private coaching without creating the same obstacles in a different way.
The most difficult considerations start there: who will teach, how will quality be assessed, how will students be assisted, and—above all—whether open access can result in better results rather than just more content.
What does free coaching really look like?
Free is more than just free video courses in India.
It must entail having access to top-notch instructors, well-structured classes, study materials, exams, mentorship, counseling, and advice, as well as the full preparation environment. This distinction is important since coaching has evolved beyond simply teaching a chapter. It is now a mentoring.
The extent to which private coaching has permeated the educational system is demonstrated by data from India. 27% of students enrolled in school had taken or were taking private coaching during the academic year, according to the Comprehensive Modular Survey of Education 2025.
At the secondary level, the percentage increased to 37.8%, and at the higher secondary level, it reached 37%. Private coaching was reported by 25.5% of students in rural India and 30.7% of students in urban India.
Equally illuminating is the financial strain. For urban higher-secondary students, the average annual cost of private coaching increased to 9,950 from 2,409 per student.
Thus, the issue is genuine. However, a bigger collection of videos cannot be the solution.
The creator of the online school Vikalp, Dinesh Gupta, adopts a skeptical stance. He describes the news as "very cosmetic," contending that communities must be involved rather than relying solely on the addition of a few teachers to address the issue and that there is not a sufficiently detailed implementation plan.
He states that "it requires a back and forth approach, infrastructure building is one big challenge and alone the lectures available online cannot help."
We should pay attention to the critique.
Can the mentorship economy that private coaching has created be replicated by the government?
Maybe the largest obstacle is this.
A student may pay a coaching center for more than just lectures. They pay for a schedule, assessments, rankings, question-answering, one-on-one time, peer pressure, inspiration, and someone who is always asking, "How are you preparing?"
For this reason, the coaching classroom might not be the government's main rival. It might be the system of accountability in the classroom.
There is previous precedent for the government to regulate this industry. Guidelines for coaching centers encompassing registration, fees, infrastructure, teacher-related standards, grievance procedures, and student mental health were released by the Ministry of Education in January 2024. States and Union Territories were instructed to execute the principles using the proper legal framework.
The magnitude of the problem is demonstrated by the fact that in August 2026, the government was still debating legislation of unregulated coaching centers in Parliament.Avinash Agarwal, Director of Disha Publications, believes that increased availability to coaching can also result in more involvement, especially for kids from smaller towns and cities and families who might not be able to purchase established coaching programs.
Who should make up the new environment for education?
Whether the project is successful or turns into just another government content site may depend on this question.
"Government teachers" is not a sufficient response.
Subject knowledge, examination strategy, pedagogy, test analysis, and acquaintance with evolving trends are all necessary for competitive exams.
Therefore, a hybrid model—experienced instructors, independent educators, universities, industry experts, current education platforms, and government institutions collaborating under open standards—might be the most effective.
It's interesting to note that the announcement has not been universally condemned by the private education environment. Alakh Pandey, the creator of Physics Wallah, openly praised the project and pledged unwavering support, emphasizing that execution will be crucial in the end.
After reviewing the initiative's execution, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi suggested that the emphasis be shifted to a national platform that offers high-quality educational materials, professional advice, and organized preparation.
From the initial announcement, that is a significant development.
Does India need to reconsider the examination ecosystem as a whole, or is coaching reform sufficient?
This is the point at which the argument becomes awkward.
India is able to provide free tutoring without affecting the underlying test structure.
The bigger question is sharply posed by political analyst and policy expert Ayush Nambiar: "Free coaching could become an attempt to dismantle the invisible toll-gates between talent and opportunity, but only if execution prevents the initiative from becoming another expensive government portal with little impact on the ground."He believes that if done rigorously, this may accomplish something subtly revolutionary: make merit truly democratic, ambition less inherited, and opportunity less buyable.
The need for private coaching won't go away if students are still fighting for a small number of seats, if exam uncertainty endures, if paper leaks erode confidence, if school education doesn't sufficiently prepare students for competitive exams, and if families still think that a coaching center is necessary for survival.
It might just take on a different form.
In a similar vein, Avinash Agarwal contends that reliable literature, organized study materials, past-year questions, and consistent practice are necessary to provide free access to high-quality instruction.Students can have a more thorough preparation pathway if they have free access to high-quality instruction, consistent practice, and reliable study materials, he continues.
In the end, that might be the right way to evaluate the endeavor.
India's ability to offer free courses is not the question. It is able to. The question is whether India can offer infrastructure that facilitates free results.
The government might really reduce the financial barrier associated with competitive exams if it is successful in bringing together top-notch educators, digital infrastructure, testing, mentorship, counseling, and trustworthy study materials.
However, the private coaching sector will largely remain unaffected if "free coaching" is equated with a compilation of films.
Therefore, making coaching free is not the true change.
