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New Survey Finds One-Third of Indian Students Use Private Coaching as Urban Costs Soar

Families, not scholarships, pay for schooling, with urban outlays far above rural levels.

The CMS Education Survey 2025 focused specifically on household expenditure for currently enrolled students in school education. (Representative image/HT file)
Illustration: Soham Sen | ThePrint
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Overview

  • CMS: Education (80th NSS) reports 27% of students took private coaching this year, rising to 44.6% of urban higher secondary students (33.1% rural; 37% overall in Classes 11–12).
  • Average annual spending on coaching is Rs 3,988 in urban areas versus Rs 1,793 in rural, climbing at higher secondary to Rs 9,950 in cities and Rs 4,548 in villages.
  • Per-student household spending in non-government schools averages Rs 25,002, nearly nine times the Rs 2,863 in government schools.
  • Household members are the first major funding source for 95% of students, while government scholarships are first for 1.2%.
  • Education costs vary sharply by location and state: urban households spend Rs 23,470 per student versus Rs 8,382 in rural areas, with state averages ranging from Haryana (Rs 25,720) to Bihar (Rs 5,656); course fees are the largest expense at Rs 7,111, with an urban average of Rs 15,143 against Rs 3,979 in rural areas.