National Survey Reveals Nearly One in Four School Students Uses Private Coaching

UPDATE - follow-up to Coaching as Compensation: What the Red Fort scheme reveals about school education: Nearly one in four school students in India is taking or has taken private coaching, according to the Comprehensive Modular Survey: Education 2025 conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The national figure stands at 27 percent, rising to 30.7 percent in urban areas and 25.5 percent in rural areas.

## School Gaps

A proposed nationwide network of free online coaching was announced from the Red Fort on August 15, 2026, to remove the barrier of cost for competitive-exam preparation. However, the growing importance of coaching points to a deeper gap between classroom preparation and what competitive examinations demand. When a significant share of students turns to extra coaching, the issue is whether students feel adequately prepared by schools alone.

## Context

Private coaching often acts as a second education system to help students clear major competitive tests for limited professional seats. Stronger school education and better conceptual foundations should eventually reduce this heavy dependence on outside tutoring.