Pratap Nagar Coaching Hub in Jaipur was supposed to be the high-tech solution for the infrastructural problems of the coaching industry in Rajasthan, which would provide all such modern amenities to sustain the intense needs of preparing for exams.
Launched amidst great hype in 2023, this hub was said to be a glowing image to change things in the minds of aspirants for competitive exams, including NEET, JEE or UPSC.
A year on, it stands nearly deserted. Currently, the project faces harsh criticism since only four of the 224 available spaces are occupied. This article attempts to analyze why the hub failed to attract coaching centers. The data and costs reveal the yardsticks by which failure is gauged through stakeholders’ perspectives.
Pratap Nagar Coaching Hub Background
The Pratap Nagar Coaching Hub was inaugurated by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in September 2023 and covers an area of 67,000 square meters.
More than Rs 500 crore were spent on the project, which has world-class facilities like libraries, computer labs, spacious classrooms, gyms, and food courts.
It can hold as many as 70,000 students. Its environment was designed to meet students’ requirements in terms of their education needs, which is akin to that of an international campus.
Lack of Interest from Big Coaching Institutes
ALLEN Career Institute, Drishti IAS, and Aakash Institute, among other notable players, have not opened their branches here; instead, they preferred to stick to their existing haunts in the Gopalpura area of Jaipur. Observes say that this was due to set business models, existing infrastructure, and the deep-rooted ecosystem that stood there so solidly with the coaching industry.
According to a manager at ALLEN, it is a struggle both logistically and financially. Such institutes have already had so much investment in the current premises, thus demanding a huge shift in resources in case they decide to change. Besides, the concept of “follow the leader” kind of mentality does not allow the smaller institutes to be pioneers in the race without the bigger brands actually putting up the necessary example.
Increase in Fees
One of the main discouragers has been the very high rental and purchase price. The Rajasthan Housing Board had floated proposals on offer of spaces at Rs 4,400-5,200 per square foot. But there have been allegations that the prices were hiked by as much as 36% in less than a year. This added to the financial burden of prospective occupiers.
The price disparity has frustrated small coaching centers, which can’t afford such steep rates. For one, Gopalpura is still one of the more accessible destinations because the property costs are lower and there are established hostels and food outlets to cater for students.
There is a lack of immediate support from the ecosystem
Pratap Nagar is still in its infancy when it comes to student life, as it lacks commercial establishments, hostels, and daily stores that enable them to have a smooth lifestyle.
Coaching centers at Gopalpura already have an established ecosystem with affordable hostels, libraries, and eateries that students depend on to manage their day-to-day life.
The same deficiency at Pratap Nagar has thus held back institutes from shifting, as students and teachers too like an environment that has easy access to vital facilities.
Rupesh Chaudhary says he spent Rs 2 lakh to transform his home into a hostel. “There is no demand,” he complains. Hundreds of other local business owners in the area have begun to regret owning the space they rented after anticipating the needs of the students they never saw. They earn little or no returns on their investment.
Security Issue: Missed Opportunity
Recent drowning incidents in Delhi, particularly those of three UPSC aspirants who succumbed to death in Old Rajinder Nagar, have been having a notion that students need safe environment during their studies.
However, most of the coaching centers still exist in Gopalpura, with issues of over-crowding, less safety measures and infrastructural defaults. Considering all these safety aspects, Pratap Nagar’s Coaching Hub has structured the exits, surveillance, and open spaces.
However, as the regulations are ineffective in relocation, institutes continue conducting activities from unsafe premises, which is disintegrating the whole hub.
According to the local teachers and students, these regulations must be enforced for Pratap Nagar to function. The reluctance by the government not to enforce this has led to a lack of trust in their seriousness regarding the safety of the students, and one wonders whether revenue is more important than welfare.
Mismanagement and Political Challenges
It was inaugurated by the previous Congress-headed government as an election promise on coaching industry issues.
The fresh BJP government headed by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, has been accused of not developing the hub in right earnest which has held back its progress while not able to enforce relocation guidelines. Critics say that this lack of continuity in governance has halted the success of the hub.
According to a member of the Congress, Yashowardhan Singh, even without proper regulation, coaching centers would keep operating in less safe private structures. The frictional politics between successive administrations also did not help the cause of the project and keeps running in limbo for students and their owners of institutes, too.
Student Preferences and Experiences
According to the students many of whom visit this place from other states for competing on their respective competitive exams, the Pratap Nagar offers great benefits like good infra, open space, and safety. It was due to this reason of lack of movement from bigger institutes which dissuaded them from asking for a shift. Ashok Chaudhary, a student from Haryana said, “I would love to have access to the facilities at Pratap Nagar.”.
The area is much vaster and campus-like, but my institute is located at Gopalpura, and without it, I would not have been able to go anywhere.
Students are often housed in cramped, hazardous environments where, according to another student, “every library is in a basement.” Many students and their families like the idea of a safer layout at Pratap Nagar, but with little institute migration involved, they have little reason to shift.
Economic Insecurity for Small Entrepreneurs
The economy of the Pratap Nagar Coaching Centre was supposed to revolve around the needs of its students. In fact, this project is going to adversely affect quite a few small investors in the locality, including stationery shops, restaurants, and PG accommodations. According to Manoj Singh, owner of the shop: “None had envisioned that there would be students in the required numbers.”.
“We were told that 70,000 students would be coming for classes and that all the big coaching institutes would be moving here,” said Singh, emphasising the difference between what has been promised by the government and what actually exists in reality.
This strain also did its effect upon the investors and made other even smaller centers of coaching question their feasibility of shifting. Even those, who had shown interest in the move to Pratap Nagar, are now rethinking and apprehensive of landing into more losses with no steady influx of students.
Conclusion: A Wasted Opportunity or a Future Promise?
The grand vision of Pratap Nagar Coaching Hub of Jaipur reflects the need for a modern, safe, and structured environment in the coaching industry of India. However, it is still a future aspiration because the ecosystem support necessary to drive excellent institutes is weak, which leads to high costs, political mismanagement, and deterrent resistance by existing institutes.
The hub should be feasible only if the local government takes proactive steps like providing economic incentives, reducing property rates, and enforcing safety regulations upon all coaching centers in Jaipur.
If such measures are not taken, Pratap Nagar can remain only a ghost town-the monument to missed opportunities and the complexities of reforming education in a rapidly evolving economy.
