PM Modi unveils free coaching initiative in Independence Day address

The Prime Minister said the initiative would combine digital public infrastructure, teachers and talent to reduce coaching costs for poor and middle-class families

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a plan to establish a network of free coaching centres for young people preparing for competitive examinations, saying the initiative would reduce the financial burden of coaching on poor and middle-class families.

 

“So that poor and middle-class families can save on thousands of crores of expenses and their sons can live close to them and they can be taken care of, free coaching for various exams will be given to the youth of this country,” Modi said in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort.

 

He said the government would combine digital public infrastructure, talent and teachers to create the free coaching network.

 

“For our middle-class families, the competition for coaching classes has become a major burden. Every parent thinks that if they do not send their children to coaching classes, then they are not a respectable family,” Modi said.

 

The announcement comes amid the growing role of private coaching in preparation for examinations such as engineering and medical entrance tests and government recruitment examinations. The government has also been pursuing greater use of digital platforms and online learning resources to expand access to education and skilling.

 

The announcement also comes after student protests following the cancellation of this year’s Neet-UG examination, with policymakers and sector experts pointing to the coaching-centre ecosystem as a factor contributing to paper leaks and the wider pressure surrounding high-stakes examinations.

 

In his address, Modi highlighted the expansion of higher education infrastructure as another measure benefiting middle-class families. He said India had fewer than 350 universities between 2004 and 2014, while nearly 650 new universities had been established over the following 10-12 years, with the total now approaching 1,000.

 

He also said the number of medical seats had risen from around 400 to 850, and that foreign universities were now setting up campuses in India.

 

Modi said the National Education Policy (NEP), introduced in 2020 after a gap of 35 years, had also benefited middle-class families. The policy replaced the 1986 education policy and sought to overhaul school and higher education through changes including multidisciplinary learning, vocational education and greater flexibility in undergraduate programmes.

 

He also cited the expansion of Atal Tinkering Labs, saying more than 10,000 such laboratories had been provided to children to encourage innovation and interest in technology.

 

The free coaching announcement is likely to be significant for students preparing for high-stakes examinations, where private coaching has become an important part of the preparation ecosystem and a major household expenditure.