Coaching Over Classrooms - Let's unpack India's real education engine

India has 1.5 million+ coaching centers. From IIT to NEET to UPSC to SSC to spoken English. This isn't "extra help." This is the main syllabus. School = attendance. Coaching = survival.

Each year, over 2.5 lakh students move to Kota, Rajasthan. They stay in PGs, eat dabbas, and chase AIR ranks. Study 14 hours a day. One dream: Crack JEE or NEET. But also? Anxiety. Isolation. Even suicides.

Families spend ₹1–4 lakh/year just on coaching. Some mortgage land, sell gold, or borrow from relatives. All for one shot at an "entry ticket" - IIT, AIIMS, a future. This isn't fees. It's faith.

Ask a Class 11 student: "Will your school help you crack NEET?" They'll laugh. Because even schoolteachers moonlight at coaching classes. Schools give marks. Coaching gives results.

In India, clearing JEE or NEET = Status + Security + Escape. It's not just an exam. It's an entire family's social elevator. A 17-year-old carries that weight. That's why it's not a test. It's a life gamble.

This isn't a coaching problem. It's a system problem. We normalized: 🎯 Rank over knowledge 💯 Tests over curiosity 📈 Fear over growth The machine works - but for what?

The question isn't "Can kids do it?" It's: Why does a ₹6 trillion coaching economy exist on top of schools? And what does that say about the real education system?