When Learning Becomes a Business and Childhood Becomes a Competitive Race

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

By the time 13-year-old Samiksha Sinha finishes his day, she has already spent nearly twelve hours studying. School from 8 am to 2 pm. Coaching classes from 4 pm to 8 pm. Homework, tests, assignments, and revision until midnight.

“It feels like I have two schools,” she says. “One gives me attendance. The other decides my future,” says Samiksha.

Samiksha is not a unique case. Across India, millions of students now live under the shadow of an education ecosystem increasingly dominated by coaching centres. What began as supplementary learning support has evolved into a parallel education industry worth thousands of crores, shaping academic aspirations, family finances, and childhood itself.

The uncomfortable question is no longer whether coaching helps students. The question is whether India’s coaching culture has become so powerful that it has hijacked the country’s mainstream education system.

We all know how coaching institutes have tie-ups with regular schools, and how students at coaching institutes are given attendance in regular school for appearing in final exams. This is especially true of students from Class 9 to 12, who just don’t attend regular schools.

The Rise of the Parallel Education System

India’s schools were once expected to be the primary institutions of learning. Today, many students and parents view them as merely one part of a larger educational journey.

For competitive examinations such as JEE, NEET, CUET, UPSC, CLAT, and numerous state-level tests, coaching institutes have become almost mandatory.

In cities like Kota, Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, and Pune, coaching centres operate like industrial-scale enterprises. Their billboards feature toppers like celebrities. Their advertisements dominate public spaces. Their success stories fuel a perception that admission to a prestigious college depends less on school education and more on specialized coaching.

For many families, coaching is no longer an option. It is an obligation.

The Cost of Chasing Success

The financial burden can be staggering. Gurugram’s Rosy D’Souza, whose daughter is preparing for medical entrance examinations says: “Between school fees, coaching fees, test series, study materials, and travel expenses, we spend more on education than on anything else. It feels like a second mortgage.”

Many middle-class families dip into savings, take loans, or sacrifice other necessities to fund coaching. Parents justify the expense because the stakes appear enormous. A single entrance examination can determine access to professional careers and social mobility.

But the economic pressure is often accompanied by emotional strain. “It is a vicious circle,” says PS Jain, whose daughter is taking coaching for JEE. “If I don’t provide coaching, I worry my child will fall behind. But, arranging for the money is a constant battle.”

When Childhood Becomes a Test Series

Perhaps the most troubling consequence is the impact on students themselves. For many teenagers, life revolves around rankings, mock tests, and cut-offs. Sports, hobbies, friendships, and unstructured play gradually disappear from daily life.

Says Amisha Singh, a class 12 student preparing for architecture entrance, “I feel life is passing me by. I do nothing except studying. It is not a happy way to live.” A wisdom, certainly beyond her 16 years.

The psychological toll is increasingly visible. Academic stress, burnout, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and feelings of inadequacy have become common experiences among students navigating high-pressure coaching environments.

Of course there are success stories. But there are failures too. When despite all the studying children fail to get through, or get a college of their choice.

What Teachers Are Saying

Many school teachers express frustration at the growing dominance of coaching institutions. Nirmal Sharma, a PGT who retired Kendriya Vidyalaya Jammu Tavi notes, “Students often pay more attention in coaching classes than in school because they believe coaching is what will get them into college. Schools are becoming secondary.”

Aditi Jugal, a teacher in a private school in Surat points to a deeper structural problem. “When examinations reward memorisation and speed over understanding, coaching centres naturally thrive. They teach students how to crack tests, not necessarily how to learn,” she laments.

Teachers argue that the rise of coaching reflects larger weaknesses within the education system itself. If schools fully prepared students for competitive examinations and critical thinking, the demand for parallel education might be significantly lower.

The Coaching Industry’s Defense

Coaching institutes reject the label of “mafia.” They argue that they exist because students and parents demand results. Many institutions provide structured study plans, expert faculty, personalized mentoring, and extensive test preparation that schools often struggle to offer.

Supporters also point out that coaching has helped students from smaller towns compete on a national stage. Indeed, for many aspirants, coaching centres have opened doors that may otherwise have remained closed.

The issue, therefore, is not whether coaching can help students. The issue is whether the system has become so dependent on coaching that formal education no longer seems sufficient.

Education or Commercialisation?

The rapid growth of the coaching sector has transformed education into one of India’s most lucrative businesses. Success rates become marketing campaigns. Student achievements become advertisements.

Every examination season brings a flood of promotional claims designed to attract anxious families. Critics argue that this commercialisation creates perverse incentives.

When educational success becomes a product, students risk becoming customers rather than learners. The focus shifts from curiosity and intellectual development to rankings, cut-offs, and selection percentages.

The Real Crisis

The coaching boom is not merely an education story. It is a reflection of a larger societal problem. India’s intense competition for limited seats in elite institutions creates extraordinary pressure. When millions compete for a few thousand opportunities, industries inevitably emerge to capitalize on that demand.

The coaching sector did not create the crisis. It grew because the crisis already existed. But its expansion has amplified inequalities, intensified pressure, and reshaped the educational experience for an entire generation.

Reclaiming Education

The solution is not to eliminate coaching centres. Rather, India must strengthen schools, reform examinations, expand quality higher education opportunities, and reduce the disproportionate importance of a handful of entrance tests.

Students deserve an education system that values learning as much as selection. Parents deserve a system that does not force them into financial distress. Teachers deserve classrooms where meaningful education remains central. And children deserve something increasingly rare in modern academic culture—a childhood.

Until that happens, the coaching industry will continue to flourish, filling gaps that schools and policymakers have failed to address. The question is whether India wants education to remain a public good—or become a permanent competitive marketplace where success belongs primarily to those who can afford the highest-priced preparation.