India's coaching capital goes online to keep a Rs 3,000-crore business running amid a pandemic

Mumbai | New Delhi: Leading coaching institutes in Kota are ramping up their online presence, amid continuing uncertainty over the resumption of classroom teaching and as they seek to widen their student base. Institutes such as Career Point, Allen Career Institute, Bansal Classes and Motion Education in the coaching hub - a market worth more than Rs 3,000 crore are getting ready to invest in expanding through the online medium.Career Point has already signed on 10,000 students for its e-learning platform launched two months ago. Another 40,000 have expressed interest, its chief executive said. “We are going very aggressive in the online medium, going forward we may move out of offline completely,” said Pramod Maheshwari. The institute has earmarked an investment of Rs 25 crore in the next one year.And, there is a clear business case, at least for the large institutes which do not have to spend much on brand building. “Online will be a new market and a new business opportunity. Covid has just accelerated it,” said Nitesh Sharma, the marketing head at Allen Career Institute. Though he said online would not affect the offline business, as a majority of the students would want the rigour and competition of classroom teaching. The institute had registered 100,000 students for offline during the lockdown period. They are now being coached remotely.Kota is known as the coaching capital for those aspiring to crack medical and engineering entrance exams. Up to 175,000 students reside in this Rajasthan town. The pandemic has dealt a body blow to the entire business set-up. Experts said online will not only give a wider access to faculty and students across the country, but significantly reduce the rental, infrastructure and manpower cost to manage the large physical set-ups.

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