Why Private Tuitions Are Popular Among Students in Bengal and Odisha

speedy Summary

• Private coaching has become a widespread phenomenon in India, growing into a parallel education system.
• Over the past seven years, tuition has surged at all levels of education, even in rural areas.
• Rural girls in higher secondary education have seen a sharp increase in reliance on private tuition.
• Eastern states like West Bengal and Odisha record some of the highest numbers of students attending coaching classes, starting as early as Kindergarten.
• In certain cases, families are spending more on tuition fees than on actual school expenses.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The rise of private coaching underscores gaps within India’s formal schooling system, particularly evident in Eastern states such as Bengal and Odisha. For many families to prioritize tuitions over traditional school expenses suggests shortcomings in institutional teaching quality or accessibility challenges within formal schools themselves. This trend also highlights educational inequities-rural populations and young girls are among those most reliant on supplementary learning methods due to structural inadequacies.

While coaching helps improve individual outcomes for some students,its prevalence raises concerns about affordability and systemic inequality; not all households may be equipped to allocate significant funds toward such services. Policymakers could use this data-driven insight to strengthen public schooling frameworks where reliance on external tutoring is high, ensuring access to high-quality education remains global rather than driven by financial capability.

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