BENGALURU/SINGAPORE: For millions of families in India, becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer remains a coveted career path - fuelling a booming tuition industry that caters to students competing for highly sought-after college places.The country has a massive network of private institutes and centres preparing candidates for national medical and engineering university entrance exams - as well as civil service recruitment.But the market has come under intense scrutiny following a series of exam paper leaks - including one earlier this year that forced more than two million students to resit the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to top medical colleges.The scandal then became a rallying point for a Gen Z-led protest movement that ultimately forced the education minister to quit.

While much of the public anger has focused on failures by education authorities, experts and observers say the role of the private tuition and coaching industry has faced far less scrutiny.Speaking to CNA, Indian education activist Pradeep Poonia pointed to cases where industry players had been linked to exam paper leaks, which included this year’s NEET exam.In May, India’s top investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the owner of a private coaching institute in Latur city after investigators recovered questions matching those in actual examinations.Other cases included a faculty member of a private education centre in the city of Pune being arrested in late May for allegedly receiving leaked questions for a physics paper part of the NEET exam. In July, Rajasthan police also arrested a coaching centre operator over leaking a 2022 lecturer recruitment exam.The intense competition around NEET creates a ready market for leaked material, Poonia said, adding that many people are “ready to pay” for leaked exam papers and material.“It’s all about the money,” he said.According to CBI investigations into the 2026 NEET leak, exam papers were sold at 1 million to 1.2 million rupees (US$10,500 to US$12,500).“That’s why it happens.”