Insights

For lakhs of Class 11 and 12 students, the biggest nightmare isn’t Physics or Math's—it’s managing CBSE boards and JEE Main together. 

According to education expert Mohit Tyagi from Competition, the difference lies not in what you study, but how you study. Boards test your ability to explain concepts in detail, while JEE Main focuses on speed, logic, and application.

One Syllabus, Two Exams: Why Smart Students Don’t Separate Their Prep

Most JEE concepts are already taught in school classrooms. The theory is the same—the only difference is the question style. When students build strong conceptual clarity through NCERT and standard problems, board questions become easier and JEE questions less intimidating.

Trying to prepare separately for both often leads to confusion. But deep understanding makes both exams feel manageable.

The Ultimate Plan: How to Study Without Burning Out

A realistic, flexible timetable is key. Your daily routine should include:

• NCERT reading and revision
• JEE-level problem-solving
• Weekly mock tests
• Board-style answer practice
• Breaks, sleep, and physical activity
• Consistency matters more than studying for 12 hours a day.
• Study Smart, Not Long

NCERT is your best friend. Combine it with previous years’ question papers, mock tests, and short notes for quick revision. After the January JEE attempt, gradually increase focus on subjective board answers.

Online vs Offline: Where Are Students Saving Hours?

Many students now prefer online learning, saving 2–3 hours of daily travel time. Free, high-quality lectures available online prove that discipline beats expensive coaching.

• Don’t Ignore “Scoring Subjects”

English, Computer Science, Economics, and Physical Education can boost your percentage easily. Ignoring them all year only creates last-minute panic.

• The Real Secret: Mindset

Boards and JEE are not enemies. They work together. When your concepts are clear, revision is regular, and practice is consistent, you automatically prepare for both.

With the right mindset and strategy, cracking JEE Main and scoring high in boards is not a dream—it’s totally achievable.

The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 add a much stronger and detailed legal framework to eliminate caste, based discrimination in universities and colleges in India. These regulations are substitutes for and substantially raise the bar of the 2012 anti, discrimination guidelines, thus making the system more explicit, inclusive, and enforceable. The intent is to make higher education a fair, dignified, and equal opportunity space for all students, thus respecting the constitutional values of India.

The Justice Verma Committee had contributed a important recommendation that the law clearly specify discrimination against Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as a violation. One of the most notable updates in the 2026 law changes is the broadened definition of caste, based discrimination. The intermediate drafts of the regulations had left out OBCs but the final version now officially recognises and makes discrimination against SCs, STs, and OBCs punishable. This way, all the three groups, SCs, STs, and OBCs, which have suffered historical marginalisation, are assured of getting equal legal protection without any doubt or ambiguity in educational institutions.

Besides, a key feature of the revamped system is the elevated degree of accountability of the institutions. They are required to, inter alia, establish the internal grievance redressal mechanism, conduct awareness programmes at regular intervals, monitor discrimination cases, submit reports, and ensure prompt inquiries and actions. By doing so, the policy is no longer a mere symbolic compliance but an active enforcement that largely relies on the institutions taking responsibility for the inclusive and safe learning environments which they are supposed to maintain.

Their regulations are closely linked to the core values of the constitution as well. They heavily depend on Article 14 which guarantees Equality before the law; Article 15 that prohibits discrimination; and Article 21 which assures the right to life with dignity. Taken together, these principles stress that higher education institutions ought to be safe and inclusive environments where students may freely acquire knowledge and grow without being subjected to discrimination or exclusion.

From a UPSC viewpoint, such regulations have great potential implications for a range of General Studies papers. For GS Paper II (Polity and Governance), at the level of connecting, they highlight constitutional values, the role and functions of statutory bodies like the UGC, and government schemes geared towards social justice and inclusion. For GS Paper I (Indian Society), they touch upon issues of social stratification, the caste system, and the challenges that the structurally weakest sections such as SCs, STs, OBCs, women, and persons with disabilities face on a daily basis. For GS Paper IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude), they serve as a reminder of the fundamental ethical values such as respect for human dignity, fairness, justice, institutional ethics, and public system's accountability.

A committee established by the Ministry of Education has proposed sweeping changes to India's high school education system, aiming to limit coaching centre hours and reduce student dependence on external tuition, said a report. The panel has recommended capping coaching classes at "2-3 hours per day", redesigning school curricula to align more closely with competitive entrance examinations, and increasing the weightage of board examination results in college admissions. 

According to a report in The Indian Express, the proposals respond to concerns regarding the "psychological toll of competitive exams and the pressure to enrol in coaching from an early age". Members also want to see the introduction of career guidance starting in Class 8 and the possibility of competitive tests in Class 11, the report added.

The committee, headed by Vineet Joshi, Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, was constituted in June 2025 to examine the effectiveness and fairness of competitive entrance examinations, the proliferation of dummy schools, and the growing influence of coaching institutes across academic pathways. The panel included senior officials such as CBSE chairman Rahul Singh, NTA Director General Rajesh Lakhani, and professors from leading technical institutes. During meetings at Shastri Bhawan, members discussed the "growing concern around the proliferation of coaching centres and their impact on student well-being, equity of education, and the role of schools".

Throughout the talks, several times, it was mentioned that one of the reasons students get stressed and depend on private guidance is because there is no proper counselling or career guidance available in schools. The committee, in its report, along with other things, pointed out that a major problem was the gap between the school curriculum and what is required in highly competitive exams like JEE and NEET. The transition from Class 10 to Class 11 was noted as a stress point. The committee considered the "lack of alignment between CBSE's analytical and conceptual approach and the objective, MCQ-based format of entrance exams" a "root cause" of the dependence on coaching, fueling dummy schools and a parallel education economy.

The committee observed that many teachers in schools are not adequately trained to teach beyond board exam requirements, while coaching centres often employ subject experts, including engineers and medical graduates. The article also pointed out that schools don't have an environment where students are regularly tested, their performances analyzed and study materials curated enough for students to be forced to study from outside.

Among the suggestions was that NCERT be the lead agency, supported by NTA, CBSE, and other boards, to ensure syllabus alignment between school curricula and competitive exam requirements.

The committee suggests imposition of more rigorous measures on the tutoring centres such as their advertising being regulated and them being made legally responsible for disclosure of teaching methods, faculty credentials, and student success rates. Other proposals on the table are the increased number of entrance tests and giving more weight to board exam scores for admissions. The different working groups have been asked to review the syllabi of different boards and check whether competitive examinations can be held in Grade 11.

India’s online skilling firms banked on co-branded courses for years, leveraging the credibility of legacy institutions. As the nation’s young population swells and stricter visa norms shut the gates overseas, some of them are chasing full university status.

Master’s Union and Scaler, among higher education platforms that promise to impart industry-ready skills outside the traditional degree system, are evaluating the acquisition of university licences in India, their founders said. PhysicsWallah is also looking to set up a technology, driven university in Andhra Pradesh.

According to government estimates, almost 50% of India's 1.4 billion population is below 25 years of age. Grand View Research forecasts the revenue of India's higher education market to nearly triple from $19.4 billion in 2023 to $54.4 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8%.

India presently has the largest population historically that could go for higher education, and policymakers are geared to pushing the gross enrolment ratio significantly higher over the next ten years, says Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and national leader for education and skill development practice at KPMG. “There have never been so many people wanting to enter higher education in a single geography,” he said, calling the next 25–30 years a rare demand window for institutions willing to commit long term.

India’s higher education market is also entering a rare moment of churn. For years, aspirational Indian students looked overseas. That option is narrowing. Tighter visa norms and shrinking post-study work opportunities across the US, the UK, Canada and Australia are redirecting demand back home.

Campus calls

Online skilling surged during the 2020–21 edtech boom, only to fizzle as students returned to the classroom after the pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2022. Several started offering co-branded degrees and campus partnerships, with Physics Wallah, Simplilearn, and upGrad tying up with Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and private universities, Mint reported.

While these partnerships allowed them to grow without directly awarding degrees themselves, founders say independent skilling models often limit growth, especially in undergraduate programmes, where degree recognition matters the most.

Master’s Union recently applied for licensing for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with the state education departments and the University Grants Commission (UGC), founder Pratham Mittal told Mint. “We always wanted to build a university status. Governments do not look favourably in many situations until and unless you are a licensed player.”

Licensing will help Master’s Union become part of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and allow it to participate in youth festivals, he said.

The government policy and licensing frameworks mainly support higher education reform in India. They impact access to rankings, funding, research collaboration and curriculum standards, thus areas non-licensed players are mostly still denied, according to a recent PwCAssocham report.

Physics Wallah has also signed an MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to set up the University of Innovation (UoI).

UpGrad was the pioneer edtech company to set up a university in 2021, after getting approval under a Maharashtra state law and being recognized by the UGC. In 2025, it was accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

Scaler, too, is engaging with regulators and exploring formal accreditation routes, rather than relying on legacy university tie-ups.

“The partnership model works up to a point, but it also comes with limitations,” said Abhimanyu Sharma, co-founder and chief executive of Scaler. “Traditional universities often lack the governance structures and operational clarity that a venture-backed education company requires…”

The Scaler School of Technology, established in early 2024, received nearly 30,000 paid applications and over 2,00,000 registrations this year (2025) for its technology programmes, according to Sharma. The company plans to acquire a large campus for expansion and is evaluating a nearly 20-acre site.

Entry barriers

Under most state regulations, private universities are required to either own or hold long-term leases for 10 to 30 acres of land. These requirements deter smaller players.

“An independent university licence is a strategic option, but the immediate focus is on partnerships…” said Prateek Shukla, co-founder and CEO of Masai, which is focusing on building partnerships with top institutions in the country.

Ankit Agarwal, co-founder of Elevation Capital-backed Mesa School, said the limited need for formal degrees in the postgraduate segment has kept the company out of the university licensing race.

“A number of private universities were formed back in the day to fulfil the employment requirements of IT services companies,” he said. “Now, with the startup industry creating just as many opportunities, there is a need for new-age institutions to be formed.”

Not a free pass

The government’s stance has shifted. According to senior education experts, the UGC is actively opening the door to more private participation as it pulls back from setting up new public universities.

Policies under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 had the objective to totally transform higher education through the gradual discontinuation of the affiliating college model, giving more freedom to universities, permitting flexible entry and exit via credit banks, and encouraging multidisciplinary learning, research, and global collaborations.

Besides that, it had the broader aim of raising the gross enrolment ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035, which was only 28.4% as of 2021, 22.

But this is not a free pass.

Regulatory filters, from land requirements to accreditation and screening committees, have become sharper, reflecting a desire to let in capital and capacity without losing control of quality, said Ramaswamy of KPMG. “They want more players, but not everyone.”

While universities remain not-for-profit entities on paper, investors are increasingly backing the businesses around them, including operating platforms, marketing arms and service entities that effectively control campus economics. “A lot of money is being spent on higher education, even if it doesn’t always show up as a straight acquisition.”

EdTech growth in Tier 2, 3 cities is projected at 20% by 2025, and as flexible financing becomes standard, access barriers will continue to fall.

In India’s narrative of progress, where gross enrolment in higher education has climbed to 28.4% as of 2021-22, according to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22, Ministry of Education, nearing the National Education Policy’s targets, the story often spotlights gleaming metros like Delhi and Bengaluru.

But underneath this growth story and on a more subdued level, there exists a divide between the 70% of the population living in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and the access to elite opportunities. The challenge? Not a lack of drive, but entrenched barriers that make quality higher education feel like a distant privilege.

According to the AISHE, enrollment increased from 43.3 million during 2021–22 to an estimated 46.5 million by 2025. For these individuals, participation has been limited by financial constraints and inadequate infrastructure.

The hidden financial burden

Middle-income families where the average household income is ₹5 to ₹10 lakh per year, typically spend between 30% and 40% of their total income to educate just one child; estimated from household surveys. The expense is even greater when taking into account relocation costs and premium guidance for entrance exams, such as JEE or NEET.

According to a 2024 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad report families in rural areas incur much greater opportunity costs. As a result, many will have to delay or not be able to pursue higher education.

Supplemental learning, such as online upskilling or test prep, adds another layer; platforms report a 32% surge in demand from these cities in 2023 (College Vidya survey, 2023), yet affordability remains elusive, with 43% of scheduled caste, tribe, and Muslim households citing funds as the primary dropout trigger.

The ripple effect? A resource of untapped talent; young individuals in Bhubaneswar or Nagpur who could become great engineers, but instead have chosen to take their local diplomas.

A quiet shift toward decentralisation

Yet, this is no tale of despair, far from it. Educational institutions are changing to provide a pathway to equitable education based on local resources with a global influence.The Indian Institute of Management's analysis from 2024 reported that the number of students from Tier-3 cities migrating to larger cities reduced by 15 percent over the last 5 years because more good-quality higher education options have been coming up closer to home.

Five of India's most respected Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), namely Ropar, Guwahati, Mandi, Patna and Kanpur were pioneers in offering academic tracks in partnerships with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) that permit students in Tier-2 and Tier-3 affiliated colleges to obtain an IIT credential without significant disruption to their lives.

The NSDC-IIT partnership that was introduced for the academic year 2024-25 (partnerships were announced in 2024) has already enrolled more than 5,000 students, combining their core local courses with speciality courses in AI and Data Science.

The 2024 NASSCOM survey confirms this trend, illustrating that employers are now looking to employ approximately 60% of their workforce from this geographical area due to the fact that it is estimated that approximately 35% of advanced engineering talent will be located here by the year 2028.

When outcomes defy geography

What emerges is a fresh inference. Decentralisation isn’t just about access, it’s rearchitecting employability. By embedding hands-on projects with Fortune 500 mentors and assured internship pipelines, elements now standard in over 25 partner colleges across non-metro belts, programs are yielding outcomes that rival metros. Highest salaries touch 26 LPA, with 305 students securing multiple offers in diverse roles, from startups to MNCs.

These transformative outcomes are vividly illustrated through real student journeys, showcasing how accessible edtech and innovative financing models are empowering Tier-2/3 aspirants to achieve metro-level success while staying rooted in their hometowns.

For instance, real-world trajectories illuminate this shift. Take Swastik Gupta from Gaya, Bihar – a Tier-3 enclave where coaching centers are scarce and family incomes hover below ₹6 lakh yearly. In 2025, Mr. Gupta cracked the JEE Main at the 99.40th percentile, crediting edtech platforms.

A new equation of opportunity

Higher education is becoming more democratic, granting Tier-2/3 students access to opportunities once reserved for metro residents. EdTech growth in these cities is projected at 20% by 2025, and as flexible financing becomes standard, access barriers will continue to fall.

Many students from these cities who once planned to study abroad are now choosing domestic education for cultural fit and better ROI. India’s youth dividend is decentralizing, strengthening local economies, reducing brain drain, and proving quality education is not geography dependent.

As Tier-2/3 cities transform from feeders to talent forges, the real bridge is being built in classrooms across Indore and Imphal, where tomorrow’s leaders are already coding their breakthroughs.

Following the tragic death of a 19, year old female student from a local Government Degree College in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to constitute a Fact Finding Committee. The safety of students was stressed as the foremost priority by the UGC. In its statement, the UGC also assured that the culprits will not be spared and that they will be taken to task rigorously. The University Grants Commission has taken serious cognisance of the tragic suicide at the Government Degree College, Dharamsala. It has been decided to constitute a Fact Finding Committee. UGC assures that culprits will not be spared, and stringent action will follow. Student safety is paramount, the UGC said in the statement. The UGC statement came in response to the viral video of a statement of the victim apparently recorded before she died. The UGC statement mentions the word "suicide", but the victim's family has alleged that she was thrashed by three senior students and raped by a college professor.

On 18 September last year, according to an FIR filed by her father, three students (Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika) physically assaulted and threatened his daughter. As per information received from the Police, a Professor (Ashok Kumar) has been accused of making indecent advances toward the victim. My daughter received such serious trauma due to these events that she required hospitalization, which resulted in a delay in filing the FIR. Police were advised by Kumar. During the investigation into these matters, it will be revealed whether the mental and physical health issues of Pallavi were a direct result of the incidents of harassing and threatening, and how they contributed to her physical decline, which led to her death while receiving treatment at Ludhiana, Punjab. A police official stated that a thorough investigation will provide additional information on the connection between the allegations against the above-mentioned individuals and the deterioration of Pallavi's health, leading to her death.