Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a nationwide initiative to provide free online coaching for various competitive examinations, seeking to ease the financial burden faced by poor and middle-class families preparing for high-stakes examinations.
Making the announcement in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, the Prime Minister said the growing competition around coaching classes had placed a significant financial burden on families, with many parents feeling compelled to enrol their children in coaching programmes to remain competitive.
The proposed initiative aims to use India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, along with the country’s pool of talented teachers and educators, to create a network through which young aspirants can access free online coaching.
The Jhelum Journal carried out a special video report on the initiative.
The announcement is significant for students who cannot afford expensive coaching programmes or who live in areas where specialised examination preparation is not readily available. By taking coaching online, the initiative seeks to make quality preparation more accessible without requiring students to relocate or place an additional financial burden on their families.
Prime Minister Modi said the move would help families save the substantial amounts spent on coaching and enable young people to continue their preparation while remaining closer to their homes.
The initiative forms part of a broader focus on equipping India’s youth with education and skills for emerging opportunities. In the same address, the Prime Minister announced that one crore youth would be trained in Artificial Intelligence skills over the next one year, with the objective of enabling them to take a leading role in the rapidly expanding AI sector.
The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of focusing on cost, quality and skills, placing affordability alongside the need for effective learning and relevant capabilities.
The free coaching initiative comes at a time when competitive examinations have become an important pathway for young people seeking opportunities in education, government services and other professional fields. For many aspirants, however, access to specialised preparation can depend heavily on their family’s financial circumstances and geographical location.
By bringing together digital infrastructure and qualified educators, the initiative seeks to address both barriers and widen access to examination preparation.
The effectiveness of the initiative will ultimately depend on the quality and reach of the online learning ecosystem, but the announcement places an important principle at the centre of the country’s youth policy: access to preparation should not be determined solely by a family’s ability to pay for coaching.
The initiative is expected to provide a new avenue for aspirants across the country to prepare for competitive examinations without the additional cost of conventional coaching programmes.
(JJ News Desk)
