Why Parents Should Stop Sending Their Children to Coaching Class Prisons

Parent: Dr. Malpani, I’m at my wits’ end. Every day, I worry when my son leaves for his coaching class. It’s such a long commute - the roads are unsafe, the traffic is unbearable, and by the time he gets home, he’s completely drained.

Dr. Malpani: That’s a concern I hear from many parents. What should have been a learning experience has turned into a daily endurance test. By the time the child reaches home, the body is exhausted and the brain is fried. No child can learn well under that kind of pressure.

Parent: Exactly! He leaves home at 7 in the morning and returns close to 9 at night. Between school, coaching, and homework, he barely eats properly. By the time dinner’s over, he’s a zombie. The only thing he has energy left for is watching TV or scrolling on his phone.

Dr. Malpani: You’re describing what’s sadly become the standard Indian student lifestyle - trapped in classrooms, physically present but mentally absent. Coaching classes claim to “build toppers,” but what they really build are burnouts. Students spend all day listening passively, memorizing formulas, and chasing ranks instead of understanding concepts.

The tragedy is that this system rewards exhaustion, not excellence.

Parent: It’s so painful to watch. I can see that he’s lost his curiosity. He used to love science in middle school - doing experiments at home, watching space documentaries. Now he just says, “I hate physics.”

Dr. Malpani: That’s not surprising. Coaching classes kill curiosity by design. They treat learning as a race, not an adventure. Every child is forced into the same box - same notes, same pace, same “shortcuts.” There’s no room for creativity or questioning.

And when learning stops being joyful, it becomes mechanical. That’s why so many bright students lose their spark by the time they finish Class 12 - they’ve been trained to perform, not to think.

Parent: The worst part is, we parents fall for it. We pay lakhs because we’re told it’s the only way our kids can get into a good college. And then we feel guilty when we see them so miserable.

Dr. Malpani: You’re absolutely right. The coaching industry runs on parental anxiety. It thrives on the fear that if your child doesn’t join their “elite batch,” they’ll be left behind. The glossy ads with toppers’ photos are psychological traps - they exploit hope and guilt.

But education isn’t supposed to drain families emotionally and financially. It’s supposed to empower children.

Parent: But what’s the alternative, Dr. Malpani? The syllabus is so huge, and the competition is insane. If not coaching, how can my child prepare for JEE?

Dr. Malpani: The good news is - your child no longer needs to depend on coaching classes. The world has changed. Today, knowledge isn’t locked in classrooms; it’s available online - freely and abundantly.

That’s where AI tutors like app.jee.eklavya.io come in. They’re designed to help students learn independently - at home, safely, at their own pace.

Parent: AI tutors? How are they different from online coaching?

Dr. Malpani: Great question. Online coaching is just traditional teaching on a screen - the same spoon-feeding, same one-size-fits-all approach.

AI tutors, on the other hand, are personalized. They don’t lecture - they interact. They assess your child’s understanding in real time and adapt lessons accordingly. If your child struggles with a topic, the AI tutor gives extra help and easier examples. If they’ve mastered it, it moves ahead.

It’s like having a private, patient teacher available 24/7, who never gets tired, never judges, and never pressures.

Parent: That sounds… humane, honestly. No more 5 a.m. alarms or late-night buses to coaching centers. But do students actually learn this way?

Dr. Malpani: Absolutely - and often better. Because real learning doesn’t happen in crowded classrooms; it happens when students are engaged. When they take charge of their learning, ask questions freely, and explore topics out of curiosity, not compulsion.

With AI tutors, students can pause, rewind, and rewatch explanations until they truly understand them. They learn deeply, not superficially.

And most importantly, they learn without fear - no yelling teachers, no peer pressure, no constant comparison.

Parent: You know, that would actually give children their life back. They’d have time to rest, to play, to just be kids.

Dr. Malpani: Exactly! We’ve forgotten that rest and joy are part of learning. When a child studies without stress, they absorb better and retain more. AI tutors let them do that - they replace coercion with curiosity.

Your son shouldn’t have to trade his mental health for an exam score. He deserves an education that nurtures his mind instead of draining it.

Parent: I wish I’d known about this sooner. I feel like we’ve all been fooled by the coaching hype. Maybe it’s time to try something smarter.

Dr. Malpani: It’s never too late. Give him the freedom to learn at his own pace - and you’ll see the difference within weeks. He’ll start enjoying subjects again because he’s finally learning for himself, not for someone else’s timetable.

AI tutors are not just changing how students prepare for exams - they’re redefining what it means to learn.

Parent: Thank you, Dr. Malpani. For the first time in months, I feel hopeful - that maybe my son doesn’t need another coaching class, just a better way to learn.

Dr. Malpani: That’s right. The future belongs to students who know how to learn, not just how to cram. Coaching classes belong to the past - AI tutors belong to the future. Let’s give our children back their time, their confidence, and their curiosity.

Final Thought
Let’s stop sending children to coaching factories that drain their joy and curiosity. Let’s give them the tools to learn safely, joyfully, and independently - right from home.

Help us improve India’s first free AI Tutor for JEE students at app.jee.eklavya.io! We want students to become independent, self-directed lifelong learners.