Drop in student numbers impact Kota's coaching, hostel industry

Kota (Rajasthan): Business has slowed down for coaching centres and hostels in Kota following negative publicity over student suicides, new guidelines regulating coaching centres and the expansion of coaching brands to other cities, according to industry stakeholders.

The number of students in Kota has fallen to 85,000 to 1 lakh this year from the usual 2 to 2.5 lakh, reducing the annual revenue to Rs 3,500 crore from Rs 6,500 to 7,000 crore, they said.

Despite the setback, stakeholders remain optimistic about the credibility of the Kota coaching model and its environment, that is absent in other cities.

Kota's educational system and environment are unmatched and will attract students back next session, which will compensate for the decline, Govindram Mittal, Zonal Chairperson, United Council of Rajasthan Industries said.

He said that industrialists are also looking at alternative opportunities, with plans to establish Information Technology (IT) hubs in the city, modelled after Bengaluru.

Earlier this year, the Karnataka government approved a Bill seeking to reserve 50 per cent of management positions and 75 per cent of non-management positions in private sector for locals, drawing criticism from across the industry.

Industrialists here have approached companies based in Bengaluru to shift base to Kota and after a nod from these companies, land for IT sectors have been earmarked under the direction of Lok Sabha speaker and Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla, Mittal said.

President of Kota Hostel Association Naveen Mittal said that the coaching centre and hostel industry here is certainly in crisis. Some owners who have built several hostels on loans are finding it difficult to pay back installments.

He said that the crisis has hit hostel owners hard, with occupancy down to 40 to 50 per cent in most of the city's 4,500 hostels.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Kota ranks behind 50 cities in terms of suicide rates, yet the city has been portrayed negatively, Naveen emphasised.

The room rents have dipped from Rs 15,000 to Rs 9,000 and many hostels remain vacant, Manik Sahani, a hostel manager in Coral Park said.

"The quality of teaching in Kota is far better than in other cities. The environment is excellent for studies," Priyadarshani Panna, a NEET aspirant from Odisha said.

"Kota gives the best facilities and environment for education and accommodation. This was the reason I chose to prepare for NEET in Kota", another student from Jalore district said.

This is the first time in decades that the student hub here has seen a sharp drop of 30-40 per cent in the number of students coming in. Kota's annual average student strength was close to 1.5 lakh in 2023 and this year it's down to 85,000, the industry stakeholders claimed.

They said that the guidelines for registration and regulation of coaching Centres, 2024, introduced earlier this year, prohibiting admission of students below 16 years of age, have impacted enrolments, they said.

A local auto driver, Ajay, who once ferried 60 students daily, now manages only 20, struggling to meet instalments on vehicles purchased on loans.

"I had a good number of shifts of students, making money for my family run very happily but this year I am struggling to meet ends for instalments as there are not enough coaching students in the city," he said.