Odisha: Private Coaching Steroids Being Pushed Instead of Classroom Ambience?

Now-a-days it is common to see that most students, including school going ones, devote a substantial chunk of their time in private coaching centres that have mushroomed in cities like never before. And Odisha is no exception.

The number of private coaching centres in the state, as of October 2025, were approximately 1,313, representing a 5.32% increase from the previous years. The majority of these, about 92.16% (1,210 centres), are single-owner or small-scale operations.

Bhubaneswar, the capital city, acts as the central hub for many prominent coaching institutes. There are hundreds of private coaching institutes in the city with a significant increase in footfalls of students from all sections of the society.  

Notwithstanding the merits or demerits of private tuitions, parents go beyond their means to enrol their children in private tutorials or coaching centres. It is a kind of “complex” that speaks of the psyche of parents and students that is making these coaching centres the second destination after school hours.

Some purists in the field of education hold an unwavering view that it is primarily the weakening grip of classroom teaching in schools that probaly has ushered in the race for a supplementary stimulus for studies, which can never match classroom teaching.

Regardless of the advertisements and branding, when one enters such coaching centres things start unfolding and education analysts say they have come across consistent criticism of the limitations, as revealed by students and parents.

Dark Underbelly

Even the large coaching chains have not been able to supplement the quest of students due to the constraints like increasing footfalls from different schools or colleges. They claim they are compelled to adopt large batch sizes of students where individual attention is pathetic.

It is a common sight that many such centres run batches of 50-200+ students for certain courses when one-to-one interaction or doubt resolution or even personalised mentoring are a casualty.

In such circumstances, it is obvious that teachers fail to track students’ weak areas and instead focus on group explanations.  

Now, looking at the increase in private coaching centres, it is evident that the quality of teaching has become a victim of demand and supply, as most of the quality faculty get hired by certain flagship coaching centres, leaving the smaller ones to manage with less experienced ones or worse, manage with recorded lectures!

Exam-focused pedagogy has become yet another retarding feature in education today, as there is extra emphasis on completing the syllabus, thus distancing students from conceptual depth and real learning.

To top it, students are always struggling to adjust with the timings. A student gets up early, at about 5.30 a.m for school starting at 7 a.m. After the school hours, he/she is back home and after a hasty lunch, again on the toes heading for the coaching centre. They return from there with a huge load of homework (of schools) as well as from the coaching centre. It must be an onerous task to mentally accommodate so many tasks. Also, this leaves 5 to 6 hours of sleep time.

Students typically require 8-10 hours of sleep per night, whereas a study by John Hopkins University recommends 9 hours of sleep for optimal cognitive function, memory consolidation, and physical health.

Adolescents (13-18 years old) often need 8-10 hours, while children (6-12 years old) require 9-12 hours. Consistent sleep is crucial for academic performance, with 7-9 hours recommended for college students.

Undue Mental Anxiety

The mental pressure on students is exerted even before his or her admission in a school, as all depends on the percentage of marks. As much as 95% to 100 % is the most heard tittle-tattle a child is exposed to much before even wearing a school uniform.

Coaching often promotes shortcut techniques to maximise marks under time pressure. So, while being effective for exams, this can undermine a proper understanding for students. 

Once school gets over, for the majority of students in Odisha, the next goal post is an IT-related job either in Bangalore or Hyderabad or abroad. Thus, the journey, where intellect or past conceptualistion, if any, gets eroded, continues, as does the cycle of stress.     

The writer is a freelancer based in Odisha, with over 40 years’ experience in the profession.