Teachers raise questions about their changing role at PhysicsWallah

As PhysicsWallah scales rapidly, some mentors say academic roles are increasingly tied to student retention and renewals, a claim the company disputes

PhysicsWallah built its reputation as a teacher-first edtech firm around founder Alakh Pandey’s journey, distinguishing itself from Byju’s — once India’s most valuable startup but now facing bankruptcy — where educators frequently complained of being pushed into sales roles during the company’s rapid expansion. 

But several current and former employees now say that gap is narrowing. 

Interviews with emplo-yees from PhysicsWallah’s CuriousJr vertical suggest that as the Noida-headquartered company pursues growth and profitability, teachers are increasingly being assessed not only on student outcomes but also on retention, renewals and referrals. More than a dozen current and former employees told Business Standard that educators hired for mentoring and doubt resolution are now expected to help keep students enrolled and bring in new business. 

The shift comes as PhysicsWallah scales rapidly. Revenue nearly doubled in two years to around ₹3,900 crore in FY26 from ₹1,941 crore in FY24, while losses narrowed sharply to ₹24 crore from ₹1,131 crore. Online transacting users rose to 4.87 million from 3.4 million during the period, while offline enrolments doubled to 470,000. 

Employee expenses, too, climbed to ₹1,735 crore in FY26 from ₹1,310 crore in FY25, reflecting the company’s expanding workforce. 

For employees inside CuriousJr, a vertical focused on students in grades 3 to 8, that growth has increasingly translated into pressure around retention. 

‘We were hired to mentor’ 

Devendra (name changed) joined PhysicsWallah’s CuriousJr vertical in September 2024 as a mentor, carrying the designation of associate professor. With seven to eight years of experience teaching JEE and Neet aspirants, he said the role appealed to him because it offered the flexibility to work remotely while managing family commitments. 

CuriousJr divides teaching operations between master teachers, who conduct classes, and mentors, who handle doubt resolution, parent communication, attendance tracking and engagement activities. 

Devendra said he was initially told he would manage around 100-120 students. The number eventually rose to nearly 250. Along with other mentors, he was responsible for solving doubts, conducting parent-teacher meetings, following up with absent students, managing multiple WhatsApp groups, organising engagement sessions and preparing manual reports. 

“You could be getting calls at midnight from students or parents. The work pressure was immense but we were somehow managing. But what started as mentoring gradually became focused on retention,” he said, adding that retention and enrolment targets gradually became important performance metrics. 

Several former employees described a similar shift.  

While academic responsibilities remained unchanged, they said increasing emphasis was placed on ensuring students continued into the next academic session and on encouraging referrals. 

Anandi, who joined the vertical in 2025, said mentors handling nearly 200 students each were expected to maintain regular communication with families, discuss continuation plans and encourage renewals. “What began as academic support gradually became conversations around whether students would continue. Sales was never mentioned in the job description. Our designation was associate professors. We are not skilled or trained in a sales job,” she said. 

Another former employee, Geeta, said sales-related responsibilities were never discussed during recruitment. Yet she recalls being asked to encourage parents to attend webinars, discuss future enrolments and generate referrals.  “There was constant pressure around renewals. We were told that if (sales) numbers did not improve, anything could happen,” she said. 

The pressure, Geeta added, often affected interactions with parents. “Parents often asked why they were pressured to enroll for the next academic year in November itself even when the new session would start in April or May. We felt guilty and had no answers.” 

Anjana, who also joined in 2025, said she was hired as an associate professor but found herself spending significant time on enrolment and retention-related activities. “We were told to tell parents that discounts were available for their kids if they referred other students. It felt that students were treated less as learners and more as customers,” she said. 

By October-November, she said, she was handed a list of around 200 students and told that retaining at least 40 per cent would make her eligible for incentives. “I was able to retain 25 per cent students. I didn’t get any incentive for retaining 25 per cent of students, instead I was fired.” 

Employees said PhysicsWallah terminated nearly 50 mentors from CuriousJr in the first week of May, describing the move as a restructuring exercise. 

Company disputes allegations 

PhysicsWallah disputed the employees’ characterisation of events. “We wish to state that the claims made through your questions are factually incorrect. There was no layoff or restructuring exercise in the month of May. At CuriousJr, we carry out a continuous performance evaluation process which is based on student engagement and student outcomes,” the company said in response to a detailed questionnaire. 

“As part of the annual performance process and the student input metrics, we have given multiple notices and training to the concerned mentors. Despite this, 16 out of 250+ mentors who could not meet the minimum requirements had to be let go based on performance in the last academic year,” it said. 

Some employees said they had received emails indicating they were under observation and could be placed on a performance improvement plan if expectations were not met. A few of them, however, said they did not receive feedback, training or formal communication regarding a PIP before being terminated. 

Those who lost their jobs said they received little advance notice. Many said they were informed through calls from human resources (HR) representatives and told their roles were being eliminated. 

According to Anandi, access to company systems was revoked within 15-20 minutes of the conversation. Geeta said she was asked to download documents from the company’s HR platform before access was removed. 

Several former employees also said their full-and-final settlements remain pending. 

On revoking access, PhysicsWallah said: “It is done as per student data protection and privacy protocols followed strictly by the organisation.” 

The ‘North Star metric’ 

PhysicsWallah said CuriousJr has recorded more than four-fold growth in enrolments and revenue in recent years. “We have seen phenomenal growth in CuriousJr, with enrolments and revenue growth of over four times. This exceptional growth at CuriousJr has been possible due to our sharp focus on achieving the best student experience,” the company said. 

The importance of retention has been acknowledged by the company’s leadership. Speaking to Business Standard after the fourth quarter of FY26, co-founder Prateek Boob described enrolment as the company’s “North Star metric” and said retention rates generally range between 60 per cent and 80 per cent, depending on the cohort. 

The annual reports, however, also show the scale of the challenge. Student dropouts increased from 7,993 in FY23 to 29,137 in FY24 and 46,019 in FY25. Student refunds rose from ₹8.7 crore in FY23 to ₹26.14 crore in FY25, while student complaints crossed one million. Many former employees interviewed for this report nevertheless expressed admiration for Pandey. Several drew a distinction between the founder’s public image and what they described as increasingly target-driven practices within parts of the organisation.

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The names of all employees quoted in this report have been changed at their request to protect their identities.