Kota coaching hub sees revival, admissions rise 20-30% after slump

Kota: After a prolonged slowdown, Rajasthan's Kota, widely recognised as India's premier coaching hub for IIT-JEE and NEET, is witnessing a revival, with admissions for the 2026–27 academic session gathering momentum.

Early trends indicate a 20–30 per cent rise in student enrolments across coaching centres in the city.

The resurgence comes after a sharp decline over the past few years.

Between 2023 and 2025, the number of students dropped by nearly 30–40 per cent — from around 2.5 lakh aspirants generating an annual revenue of Rs 6,500–7,000 crore to just 85,000 — 1 lakh students, with revenue shrinking to about Rs 3,500 crore.

However, the tide now appears to be turning.

The new batches starting March 25 saw an influx of students and parents from across the country visiting the city, signalling a recovery after nearly three years of downturn.

The admissions process will continue until April 2.

Firoj Khan, president of the Kota Station Area Auto Union, expressed optimism about the revival. "We hope for the return of the prosperous times of the past," he told PTI.

Om Birla, Lok Sabha Speaker and MP from Kota-Bundi, said the city remains committed to providing a supportive environment to students preparing for engineering and medical entrance examinations. He urged the locals to contribute to students' well-being.

Over the past four decades, Kota has built the trust of millions of families and helped students crack exams of premier institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

This year, too, it has repeated its performance.

In the January session of JEE Main, of the 12 students who secured 100th percentile scores, eight were from Kota-based institutes.

Students trained in Kota have secured All India Rank 1 in IIT-JEE for the past two years.

The city offers a wide range of accommodation options from budget to premium across nearly 4,000 hostels and 45,000 paying guest facilities. Around 35 coaching institutes, including several major players, provide intensive preparation for competitive exams.

"The huge inflow of students at the onset of the new session is beyond expectations. It reaffirms the trust of students and parents in Kota's education ecosystem. If this trend continues, the coaching industry and the city's economy will return to track," said Naveen Mittal, president of the Kota Hostel Association.

He said hostel operators have been advised not to increase rents despite rising demand.

Parents and students from across the country echoed confidence in Kota's ecosystem.

Ajay Kumar from Imphal said he had long considered the city for his child's education, citing consistently positive feedback from students in the Northeast.

Om Kumar from Begusarai described Kota as a competitive city, ideal for focused study, while Bhavesh from Jalgaon called it the "capital" of engineering and medical exam preparation.

Dr Anurag Singh from Ambedkar Nagar said perceptions about Kota often differ from reality. "The academic environment and facilities here are unmatched," he said.

With rising admissions, parenting and orientation sessions have also picked up across the city. Thousands of students and parents are attending these programmes, where experts provide guidance on behaviour, stress management and motivation.

The revival of the coaching sector is expected to boost the local economy, residents say.