New Delhi, June 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) The recent attack on “Khan Sir’s” coaching institute in Patna highlighted the darker side of India’s lucrative coaching industry, where rivalry, commercialisation, and profit motives sometimes tend to overshadow education.
Rival coaching operators allegedly attacked the social media celebrity’s coaching institute at Musallahpur Haat area in Patna, with stone-pelting, vandalism, and even firing reported. A security guard was reportedly injured.
Khan Sir claimed the attack was motivated by the low fees he charges and the high success rates he delivers, which allegedly threatened nearby institutes charging much higher fees. Musallahpur Haat is described as Patna’s coaching hub, underscoring how education has become a commercial battleground.
Incidentally, the “Kota model” was once celebrated for producing entrance examination toppers, but has since become a sad tale of extreme competition, mental health crises, and reported exploitative practices.
With success rates in UPSC, IIT-JEE, and NEET said to be hovering below 1–2 per cent of total examinees, the Patna incident reflects systemic pressures that pit institutions against each other in a race for dominance.
According to one report, for the NEET-UG (MBBS only) entrance test, close to 24 lakh aspirants competed for over one lakh seats in government and private colleges. In JEE Advanced (for IIT entrance), only one in 80 students could apparently clear the tests, while for UPSC CSE (final selection), this number was one in 1,000.
Riding on such aspirations, Rajasthan’s Kota rose in the 1990s as India’s coaching capital, with institutes pioneering IIT-JEE training. Some reports suggest that at its peak, Kota hosted 2–2.5 lakh students annually, generating revenues of about Rs 6,500–7,000 crore.
However, by 2024–25, the numbers fell to 85,000–1 lakh, with revenues dropping by half, the reports add.
Meanwhile, unable to cope with the competition and under the heavy study schedule, student suicides climbed to 29 in 2023, reportedly the highest in eight years. Mental health took its toll, with extreme pressure, hostel isolation, and batch segregation allegedly leading to suicides and burnout, chronicled in films like 12th Fail and series like Kota Factory.
A sense of guilt also worked among many, say some, where students felt they were failing their parents, who were spending money, sometimes beyond their means.
While an estimated five per cent of students are awarded scholarships, the remaining pay full fees, subsidising marketing and faculty poaching.
The fact that only a tiny fraction of the lakhs of aspirants finally succeed weighs on the rest who fear financial loss and an uncertain future, leading to emotional stress.
Given the uncertainties, coaching institutes compete fiercely for students, often allegedly resorting to unethical tactics, as reported in the media or depicted on screen.
Some parents, requesting anonymity, agreed that affordable models like that of Patna’s Khan Sir challenge high-fee institutes, provoking hostility. But not all can be admitted to such low-cost institutes, and thus, with minuscule success rates in entrance examinations, they have to opt for the expensive options for better study guidance.
These institutes sometimes market exaggerated success stories, creating unrealistic expectations.
The expectation, as the Kota crisis shows, is further fueled by unchecked competition, leading to exploitation and despair.
Source: IANS
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