Centre works on national platform to offer free competitive exam coaching

The proposed platform will provide learning content, expert guidance and structured preparation to students following the Prime Minister's Independence Day announcement

The Centre is working on a national online platform to provide learning materials, expert guidance and preparation plans following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to provide free coaching to Indian students in his Independence Day speech.

 

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi held a meeting with senior officials of the Department of Higher Education on Wednesday to review the implementation of the initiative, the minister said in a post on X.

 

“Focused on building a robust national platform that makes high-quality learning content, expert guidance and structured preparation accessible to students across the country,” the minister said in his post.

 

 

The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address, when he said the government would provide free online coaching to young people preparing for competitive examinations. He said the move was intended to help students, particularly those who cannot afford expensive coaching, prepare for such exams.

 

The government already operates SATHEE, a free learning platform developed by the Ministry of Education in partnership with IIT Kanpur, offering preparation material and guidance for examinations including the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The proposed national platform could build on such existing digital resources.

 

The push comes amid growing scrutiny of India’s high-stakes competitive examination system following repeated paper leaks and other irregularities.

 

The controversies have also brought the country’s coaching ecosystem under greater scrutiny. The NEET leak probe has highlighted links between coaching centres, exam preparation and alleged malpractice, while concerns over the high cost and intense pressure associated with private coaching have grown.

 

Sector experts and educators have repeatedly flagged the growing dominance of coaching centres amid intense competition for entrance examinations, with students increasingly turning to private coaching for an edge. The trend has raised concerns over affordability and access, as well as the potential for malpractices by coaching centres.

 

In June 2025, the education ministry had also constituted a nine-member expert committee headed by former higher education secretary Vineet Joshi to recommend measures to reduce students’ dependence on private coaching centres, examine the rise of “dummy schools” and review the effectiveness and fairness of competitive entrance examinations.

 

The move also builds on the Centre’s earlier attempts to address concerns around the coaching industry. In January 2024, the education ministry issued model guidelines for the registration and regulation of coaching centres, covering fees, infrastructure, advertising, student safety and mental well-being. The guidelines were sent to states and Union Territories for consideration and adoption through an appropriate legal framework.