Byju’s, StudyIQ, UPSC Wallah made millions online. Now they are all in concrete classrooms

These online institutes now entering the offline space charge around Rs 1 lakh for GS course; established offline players such as Vision IAS and Drishti IAS charge Rs 2-2.5 lakh.

Byju’s centre is on the fourth floor, and the first floor of the same building houses StudyIQ’s centre. UPSC Wallah’s office, which was launched last year, is also in the same neighbourhood — near the Patel Nagar metro station. | Nootan Sharma | ThePrint

New Delhi: Twenty-three-year-old Rajeev Singhal has been preparing for the UPSC exam for the past one year. He lives in Haryana’s Sirsa and was taking online coaching classes till recently. However, he moved to Delhi a month ago to a relative’s home. Living in a joint family and focusing on studies was not easy. He started his hunt for a decent coaching institute making sure the fee wouldn’t stress his father’s pocket.

“I had enrolled in StudyIQ’s online classes, but later, when I found out they had launched offline lectures, I joined their classes here in Delhi. And I am satisfied,” said Singhal.

During Covid-19, ed-tech saw a huge boom, and many startups made big profits wooing the young sitting at home. And they were giving all kinds of services—from teaching students how to crack the UPSC exam to helping them with guitar lessons, everything showed up on their smartphones and laptops. But as soon as the pandemic was over, the lure of offline coaching was back. Last year, edtech companies such as Adda24 and Unacademy also saw layoffs after they fell short of the desired revenue.

“Our main focus is to provide quality Civil Services Preparation at affordable prices. For us, offline is just another mode to deliver our flagship Prelims to Interview (P2I) course to the students,” said Mohit Jindal of StudyIQ.

All these online coaching institutes — Unacademy, Physics Wallah, StudyIQ, and Byju’s — that provide coaching for the UPSC — have moved to the offline coaching market. Offline presence means more money and, in students’ perception, more effectiveness.

Post-pandemic, the balance sheet of edtech firms wasn’t looking great.

“There used to be meetings and warnings as our monthly revenue was dropping, so the company decided to lay off a few people,” said an employee of an edtech company on condition of anonymity.

Affordable, smaller batches

In Karol Bagh, the UPSC coaching hub of Delhi, a few more coaching centres have joined, making their presence physically in an already very large and rapidly growing industry.

“Students are happy and excited about StudyIQ providing its flagship P2I course for the UPSC offline as well, thus filling the void of a quality offering at affordable prices in the offline market. We believe that if it’s good for the students, it’s automatically good for the business as well,” said Jindal.

Unacademy has more than 1,000 students in its offline centre in Delhi. Byju’s has 400, and StudyIQ, which started operations recently, has almost 100 students.

These institutes charge around Rs 1 lakh for a year-long course of General Studies, which usually costs Rs 2-2.5 lakh in other coaching institutes such as Vision IAS, Next IAS, and Drishti IAS. Most of the big institutes have batches of 400-500 students where classes are held in classrooms as big as auditoriums.

In comparison, these ed-tech institutes are keeping their batches smaller. They claim their intake is low to ensure quality of coaching.

“Currently, attending large batches of 300-400 students is a major problem for UPSC students offline. StudyIQ has decided that offline batches will be capped at 100 each so that every learner can get proper attention, mentorship, and doubt-solving,” said Jindal.

If the number of students is around 100 then they can offer better quality as it is easier to handle a smaller batch. So, one-on-one doubt clearings and mentoring can take place.

“We wanted to reach those students who prefer the offline mode of study, and we also wanted to bring product diversity. We are hoping that it will be successful,” said a teacher who teaches in one of the newly launched batches in Delhi, on the condition of anonymity.

Regaining credibility

There is widespread perception among students that online coaching institutes don’t have the credibility of serious offline coaching centres. Because everything is online, where one can study from their laptop or phone. On the other hand, when students attend class physically, it shows the parents that they are making an effort to go to the centre and study.

“Physical presence builds trust and credibility for the brand. The market is being expanded through these students who prefer offline coaching,” the teacher added.

There are technological limitations in online coaching vis-a-vis interaction with teachers and batchmates, a sense of community and belonging. Doubt clearing exercise too causes much trouble for those struggling with the syllabus.

“Online coaching was also nice, but the sense of community and belongingness was missing. Now I see the competition with other students. When I talk to other aspirants, I learn new ways of learning and making notes,” said Singhal.

Some things can only be learned through physical presence.

“One-on-one sessions with teachers can help clear your doubts. Physical classes are more disciplined than online ones,” said 26-year-old Kirti Guliya, who studies at Byju’s, preparing for UPSC.

The interactive approach

Just under the Karol Bagh metro station, there is a board hanging on the metro bridge. “StudyIQ” reads the big board. The institute located here has two meeting rooms and a big classroom. A teacher is teaching using a smart board. The centre has bright lights, cushy sofas and furnished reception with the institute’s logo. Also present is their influencer teacher, popular on Instagram.

“I come here thrice a week, and students come to meet me. They ask my name. They mostly come to clear their doubts. If they seem interested, I tell them about my course—General Studies or Political Science and international relations,” said the teacher.

Every day, students come here with queries. This is one of those names they were used to seeing online, but now they see it on the main road of Karol Bagh, which makes them check it out.

“I always watched their videos on YouTube and found them useful. I thought if they have come up with something in the offline market, it’s worth checking out,” said a student who visited StudyIQ’s offline centre in Karol Bagh and is preparing for the UPSC exam.

Byju’s centre is on the fourth floor, and the first floor of the same building houses StudyIQ’s centre. UPSC Wallah’s office, which was launched last year, is also in the same neighbourhood — near the Patel Nagar metro station.

Kirti Guliya is all set to give her first attempt this year but she isn’t sure of her chances as she began her preparation only five months ago. For her future attempts, she has chosen the offline route of an originally online institute.

“It is cheaper than the old established coaching institutes. And for UPSC, you seek coaching just for the guidance. It is the consistency and discipline that helps in the journey.”

(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)