A well-known chain of coaching centres abruptly shut down at some locations recently and left a large number of students in the lurch. The news was disturbing, but unsurprising. Prior to this, another coaching giant was dragged to the courts by creditors, leaving behind a trail of unpaid salaries and disrupting the lives of its students.
There is sufficient awareness about the unreliability and exploitative practices of shadow education institutions. The recent Tamil film Vettaiyan highlights how coaching centres lure students with the promise of 100 percent success in competitive exams, aggressive upselling and foisting of loans on students. Many students and parents found this graphic portrayal relatable.
Coaching centres have come under criticism for lack of infrastructure, faking stories of successful candidates and putting students under intense pressure. Tragic suicides of students who trusted this system for a better future, point to deep fault lines. Coaching institutions have leveraged the deficiencies in the school education system and the system of entrance tests for higher education and competitive examinations for employment, growing in reach and influence.
The size of the private tutoring industry in India in 2024 was around Rs 58,000 crore. It is expected to grow at 15 percent a year. As long as the present preference for STEM education and the system of entrance exams for higher education persist, coaching centres will continue to thrive. But the moot point is that they have managed to diminish the experience of school education, especially in the later years. Several institutes tie up with schools and get students to exclusively pursue the engineering or medical entrance examination syllabus. Students enrol in such dummy schools to focus on cracking competitive examinations. The vital years in a student’s life are thus skewed, leading to mental and physical health challenges.
The proliferation of the shadow education industry is a global phenomenon, especially in countries where academic excellence is considered important. The need for reform in the education system as well as in the method of deciding eligibility for professional courses has been a matter of discussion for many years. The National Education Policy 2020 talks about the shift to formative assessments as opposed to summative assessments, as well as the need to eliminate coaching classes. Improving the quality of school education by investing in good teachers, paying them salaries commensurate with their qualifications will effectively improve learning outcomes.
Coaching institutes acquired a new dimension during the pandemic, leveraging technology to conduct online classes. This saw the explosive growth of educational technologies, with thousands of startups entering the market. However, in the post-pandemic period, the sector witnessed a downturn as schools reopened and traditional or hybrid models of learning resumed. In an oversaturated market, this period has been marked by a decline in investment, non-payment of salaries and loss of jobs in the industry.
The rapid growth of the coaching and edtech industries has been aided by the fact that there is no regulatory oversight. In January 2024, guidelines for coaching centres were issued by the central government. However, since education is a state subject, there are gaps in implementation. Some states have proactively introduced legislation to keep a check on malpractices. But it is also necessary to appreciate success stories of smaller coaching centres who identify talent and engage with students, giving them personalised attention. It is surprising that this model has not been replicated widely. It is only undiluted commitment and consistent efforts that can add value to learning.
Most schools and colleges are run as not-for-profits, claiming exemptions under the Income Tax Act, even though they make questionable collections for building infrastructure. It is also true that there are private schools in rural and urban areas charging astronomical fees even at the primary level. Compounding this problem are profit-seeking coaching institutes. Fees are collected in advance; refund policies are opaque. This issue is required to be urgently addressed with a cap on the fees chargeable.
At this juncture, it is important to reform the system and not throw out the baby with the bathwater. If the edtech space is adequately regulated, it could prove to be a valuable tool. One of the drivers of the National Education Policy 2020 is tech-enabled teaching and learning. Edtech could be integrated into the core education value chain and provide supplementary learning methodologies and skill development initiatives in schools and training colleges.
Recent developments in artificial intelligence have seen the introduction of reasoning models that use a ‘chain of thought’ process to answer tough questions. This can be harnessed to the advantage of students. AI can be a tool for personalised tutoring, giving real-time feedback. There is a need to navigate these changes by retaining the best practices in classroom teaching and edtech pedagogy. Use of gamification modules for learning through interaction and competitiveness can also benefit the student community. But the mentoring and motivation students could receive from interaction with a teacher in a classroom setting is not likely to be substituted by an online avatar.
Education is crucial to reaping the advantages of India’s demographic dividend. Technology has the potential to enable access and deliver quality education across the country—given it’s used in the right manner.
Geetha Ravichandran
Former bureaucrat and author, most recently of The Spell of the Rain Tree