When COVID-19 shut down educational institutions across India, private coaching teachers in Bihar turned to YouTube to continue teaching. One of them was Khan Sir, a well-known educator in Patna. "I took my smart board to my village and started making educational videos," he recalled. Initially, his content did not gain much traction, but one explanatory video on the India-Nepal land dispute went viral, propelling him to fame.
Khan Sir now owns two YouTube channels with a combined following of over 28 million subscribers. His mobile app, "Khan Global Studies," has been downloaded more than 10 million times.
In the coaching hub of Patna in Bihar, a new breed of educational influencers has emerged. What began as a pandemic-era pivot has transformed these coaching center operators into cult figures with massive online followings—and the power to mobilise thousands of students.
The digital shift transformed coaching classes from physical spaces into 24/7 virtual communities, in effect the private coaching teachers amassed a huge influence.
The influence of these educators extends beyond academics. For students, they are mentors, even guardians. When exams are marred by mismanagement, paper leaks, or unfair policies, students turn to them for guidance. This has led to a growing intersection between coaching education and student activism.
In 2022, Bihar witnessed violent protests over alleged irregularities in the Railway Recruitment Board’s Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) exams. Enraged aspirants blocked railway tracks and damaged trains. The government cracked down, filing FIRs against several private coaching teachers, including Khan Sir, accusing them of inciting unrest.
The police alleged that coaching operators misled students and instigated them to take to the streets. “When we find that protests are being misguided, taken to the road, and instigated to unleash violence, we take action against them,” said Pankaj Darad, ADG (Law & Order).
The police, in its FIR, wrote that four arrested protestors claimed in their statements that they were guided to protest by Khan Sir, SK Jha, Navin Sir, and other private coaching centre operators. “Based on statements by arrested protestors, it seems that coaching operators instigated the students and sent them to Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Patna, and to the roads to create law and order problems as the result was not what they had desired,” the FIR noted.
The cases are still pending in local courts.
Patna’s Digital Coaching Boom
Private coaching in Patna started in the 1990s, with a few teachers from government colleges offering specialised classes. Renowned educators like KC Sinha and Rashbihari initially catered to a small group of students. However, by the early 2000s, as the demand for government jobs surged, coaching centers proliferated. Now, Musallahpur, Mahendru, and Bhikhna Pahari are teeming with thousands of coaching centers catering to aspirants for state and central government exams.
A study in the Explore Journal estimates that Patna has between 2,000-3,000 coaching centers, nearly half of which operate at the local level. But the pandemic changed everything.
With physical centers closed, teachers turned to YouTube, finding a vast, eager audience beyond Bihar. Smartphones, cheap internet, and YouTube’s accessibility allowed students to learn anytime, anywhere.
By 2022, YouTube had become the primary learning tool for millions of government job aspirants. Teachers built massive followings, some acquiring millions of subscribers.
It’s not just Khan Sir. Bipin Kumar’s Math Masti and SK Jha’s Aash Official, have millions of followers on YouTube as well. Their mobile apps, offering affordable online courses, have been downloaded by lakhs of aspirants.
The numbers reveal the popularity: Gyan Bindu GS Academy App run by Raushan Anand has over one million downloads. Aash official App run by SK Jha, known for holding mock tests with hundreds of aspirants on Ganga ghat of Patna, has been downloaded more than 5 lakh times. Maths Masti App of Patna based teacher Vipin Kumar has more than one lakh downloads. Platform Coaching run by Navin Kumar Singh has been downloaded by more than one lakh aspirants. Rahman Sir Live Classes App run by Guru Rahman has more than 50 thousand downloads.
Some of these institutions, for instance, Platform Coaching in Musallahpur, operate multiple recording setups with advanced video and audio equipment, ensuring high-quality content. “We upload at least four videos daily, and if any government job exam is near, we conduct marathon live classes of 3-4 hours," explained Sanjay Singh, the center's owner.
The online shift has made learning more accessible. Niraj Kumar, a government job aspirant, explained, “If I need to understand a topic at night, I can’t go to a coaching center. But I can find a video on YouTube for free. These apps also offer cheaper courses, saving time and money.”
The Role of Coaching Teachers In Student Protests
Despite legal threats, coaching educators continue to support students’ demands.
In 2024, allegations of paper leaks in the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exams led to massive student protests. Coaching operators like Khan Sir, Guru Rahman, and Ramanshu Sir openly supported the students, amplifying their concerns.
The authorities responded swiftly, filing FIRs against multiple coaching operators and social media accounts, accusing them of instigating the aspirants. An FIR was also filed against the X handle (formerly Twitter) named Khan Sir and his coaching centre, Khan Global Study Centre.
Delhi-based tutor Rohit Priyadarshi was arrested after spending ten days at the protest site. One aspirant recalled, “He stayed with us, ate what we ate, and slept at the protest site. The next day, he was arrested and released on bail under the condition that he wouldn’t speak publicly about the protests.”
The government has grown wary of the power these educators hold. Before the 70th BPSC exams, the commission held an unprecedented meeting with coaching operators, urging them to reassure students about the integrity of the exams. However, when these teachers raised concerns about the commission’s normalization policy, the backlash forced BPSC to retract its statement, blaming coaching operators for misleading aspirants.
For educators, this is a precarious situation. Expressing solidarity with students can result in FIRs and police scrutiny. “The government fears that we can mobilise aspirants,” Khan Sir explained, “but we only raise our voices when there are genuine issues like paper leaks. We have no political agenda.”
Sanjay Singh of Platform Coaching agreed: “If we support the students, the government accuses us of incitement. If we stay silent, students feel betrayed.”
Khan Sir has faced at least five FIRs related to student mobilisation. “Every time I speak about an issue, officials come to my office looking for paperwork. They want to intimidate us,” he said.
Talking about the FIRs against coaching teachers, Pankaj Darad, ADG (Law & Order) told Decode, “We have our information system which closely monitors such protests. Our people remain at protest sites in civil dress like common people and check on every development.” “If issues are related to aspirants, coaching teachers should let them take their own path,” he said, adding that he believes that the coaching teachers “milk these issues for their own benefit”.
The fear of legal action has led some educators to tread cautiously, but most continue to support students.
Dr. Akhilesh Kumar, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police and now an academic, sees both potential and pitfalls in the rise of digital coaching. "When you teach offline, you can teach a maximum of 2 to 4 thousand aspirants, but in online mode, you teach lakhs of aspirants at a time,” he said.
But there’s a problem. To remain relevant, teachers have to produce viral content. “Some educators, like Khan Sir, have mastered the balance of education and entertainment. However, the downside is that the quality of learning is often compromised in favor of viral content,” he said, adding, “The youth are not able to gain real knowledge by watching such content.”
Meanwhile, for the coaching teachers in Bihar, with influence comes scrutiny. The same educators who are viral among the youth also challenge the status quo, putting them at odds with authorities.