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Nearly 1 in 3 students in India take private coaching, with urban families spending nearly double compared to rural households, shows govt’s latest Comprehensive Modular Survey.
Govt survey shows 1 in 3 school students take private coaching, urban families spend double. (Representational Image/Getty)
Nearly one in three school students in India now rely on private coaching, with the practice more widespread in urban areas, according to the latest Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) on education released by the government.
The survey, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation as part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey, covered 52,085 households and 57,742 students to assess enrolment patterns and household spending on schooling and tutoring.
Government schools continue to dominate nationally, accounting for 55.9% of enrolments. Their presence remains stronger in villages, where two-thirds of children attend government institutions, compared with just 30.1% in cities. In urban areas, families show a marked preference for private unaided schools, which constitute a significant share of enrolments nationwide.
“It is higher in rural areas, where two-thirds (66.0 per cent) of students are enrolled, in comparison to urban areas (30.1 per cent). The private unaided (recognised) schools account for 31.9 per cent of enrolment nationwide,” the survey report said.
The report noted that 27% of students had taken private coaching during the current academic year, a figure that rises to 30.7% in urban areas compared with 25.5% in rural regions. Average annual household spending on coaching was nearly twice as high in cities (Rs 3,988) as in villages (Rs 1,793). At the higher secondary level, this gap widened further, with urban households spending Rs 9,950 against Rs 4,548 in rural areas. Nationally, coaching costs rose with each education level, from Rs 525 for pre-primary to Rs 6,384 for higher secondary.
Among students who spent on school education, 95% reported that the first major source of funding came from household members, with only 1.2% citing government scholarships.
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The CMS is the first comprehensive survey on school education since the NSS 75th Round (2017–18), though officials cautioned against direct comparison. “In the NSS 75th Round, anganwadi centres were not classified under pre-primary education and expenditures on school education included private coaching. However, CMS: E classified anganwadis within the pre-primary category and collected and presented spending on school education and private coaching separately,” a senior Ministry of Education official said.
The survey also highlighted stark disparities in educational spending. Course fees formed the largest component of household expenditure, averaging Rs 7,111 nationwide. But urban families spent far more, with course fees alone averaging Rs 15,143 compared with Rs 3,979 in rural areas. The pattern was consistent across other categories such as uniforms, transportation, and textbooks.
Archit Gupta is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com and a seasoned education journalist specialising in reporting on education and employment. He has covered a variety of education-related stories, including high-…Read More
Archit Gupta is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com and a seasoned education journalist specialising in reporting on education and employment. He has covered a variety of education-related stories, including high-… Read More
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