Education minister reviews rollout of PM's free coaching plan for competitive exams

Education Ministry under Prahlad Joshi has started work on implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's free online coaching plan for competitive examinations.After the announcement made by the Prime Minister of India for free coaching for crores of youth across the country, the Education Ministry has moved into the implementation phase, with the details of the initiative now being discussed. Pralhad Joshi, who became the Education Minister after the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan following the Jantar Mantar protest, shared details of a meeting with senior officials in a post on X.The post read: “Held a meeting with senior officials of the Department of Higher Education to review the implementation of Hon’ble PM Shri ji’s initiative to provide free online coaching to youth preparing for competitive examinations.”FOCUS ON A NATIONAL LEARNING PLATFORMJoshi also highlighted the need to develop a robust network and platform to support the implementation of the announcement and provide direct benefits to students and other stakeholders.He wrote: “Focused on building a robust national platform that makes high-quality learning content, expert guidance and structured preparation accessible to students across the country.” The proposed system is expected to focus on making quality preparation resources available to students preparing for competitive examinations, potentially reducing the dependence on expensive private coaching.NTA OVERHAUL UNDERWAY The development comes a day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced a major overhaul of its examination system. The changes include the removal of 600 experts from its panels and the introduction of a four-tier scrutiny system for question papers. The agency is also planning tighter security measures.The changes come amid concerns over examination irregularities and growing demands for reforms in the country's competitive examination system.Government Moves on Education ReformsThe free coaching initiative and the NTA reforms come after weeks of student protests that resulted in the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister.Pradhan stepped down on July 25 amid protests over examination irregularities, with the resignation being one of the principal demands raised at Jantar Mantar.With the new coaching initiative now moving into the implementation stage and changes being introduced at the NTA, several of the reforms sought by students and education experts are beginning to take shape.The coming months will determine how effectively these measures translate into better access to preparation resources and greater confidence in India's competitive examination system.- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 18:39 IST