Published Paper Details:

India's unregulated private coaching industry has grown into a multibillion-dollar sector, raising serious concerns about student welfare, developmental appropriateness, and educational equity. In response, the Ministry of Education issued comprehensive guidelines that include, most notably, an age restriction prohibiting coaching enrolment of students below 16 years of age. This mixed-methods study investigates the perspectives of parents, teachers, and students toward these guidelines, with particular emphasis on the age restriction provision, using stratified random sampling at Aiswaneswara Bidyapitha School in Astaranga Block, Puri District, Odisha. Data were collected from 57 students (Classes 8-10), 30 teachers, and 57 parents through structured questionnaires supplemented by informal interviews. Key findings reveal that 89% of parents were aware of the guidelines, 58% supported the age restriction, and 77% reported their children experienced coaching-related stress. All 30 teachers demonstrated complete policy awareness, yet 63% enrolled their own children in coaching--indicating a systemic confidence gap in school-only preparation. Students showed long-term dependency on coaching (72% attending for over two years), with personalized attention cited as the primary draw. The study highlights the need for strengthened school teaching, school-based mental health support, ethical marketing regulation, and tiered enforcement strategies to translate policy intent into equitable educational practice.