From declining a nine-figure corporate buyout to charging students as little as ₹200, Faisal Khan — better known as Khan Sir — has built a quietly massive empire on affordable education.

Khan Sir's ₹200 Fees vs ₹107 Crore Offer

When major corporate education brands came knocking with an offer worth ₹107 crore, Faisal Khan — the Patna-based educator millions know simply as Khan Sir — said no. His reason was straightforward: accepting would mean the companies would hike student fees, and the poor children he'd spent years teaching would no longer be able to afford his classes.

That decision, made public by Khan Sir himself in a media interaction, has since become something of a legend in India's rapidly expanding coaching industry.

Charging What Others Won't

At a time when top coaching institutes charge between ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh annually for a single competitive exam course, Khan Sir's platform — Khan Global Studies — runs on an almost opposite philosophy. General science and foundation batches are priced at just ₹200 to ₹300 in total. UPSC civil services preparation, which leading institutes bill at upwards of ₹1.5 lakh, is available on his platform starting at around ₹1,500 to ₹4,500. Courses for SSC, railways, and police exams rarely exceed ₹500.

For students from small towns and villages across Bihar, eastern UP, and other parts of rural India, this pricing isn't just affordable — it's transformative.

The Industry He's Disrupting

India's coaching sector is enormous. According to marketing firm GoToGrowth, the offline coaching industry was valued at approximately ₹58,000 crore in 2025. The broader edtech market, tracked by the India Brand Equity Foundation under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, stood at around ₹1.10 lakh crore in 2024 — making India the second-largest e-learning market in the world after the United States.

The post-pandemic period accelerated much of this growth. With lakhs of students competing every year for limited seats in IITs, medical colleges, and government services, families routinely spend their savings on private coaching. Big names like Allen Career Institute, FIITJEE, Physics Wallah, Unacademy, and Vision IAS dominate the landscape.

Top teachers at elite IIT-JEE centres reportedly earn up to ₹2 crore annually, with many others in the ₹70–80 lakh range. Coaching brands compete aggressively for star educators — which is precisely why Khan Sir, with nearly 2.6 crore YouTube subscribers on his Khan GS Research Centre channel, became such a sought-after acquisition target.

What He's Actually Worth

Despite his minimal fee structure, Khan Sir's sheer student volume makes the business viable. He operates online classes, offline centres in Patna and Prayagraj, and a high-traffic YouTube presence. Various media reports, including trackers cited by The Economic Times, place his personal net worth somewhere between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore.

A significant portion of his earnings reportedly goes back into operations — paying teachers, running his education app, and funding social initiatives, including a hospital project in Patna aimed at providing low-cost healthcare.

Controversy in the Background

Khan Sir is currently facing legal scrutiny in connection with the Patna firing case, with judicial proceedings ongoing. The controversy has drawn attention, though it has done little to dim the public affection he commands among students and families from economically weaker backgrounds.

His supporters argue that the model he's built — high quality, low cost, mass reach — is precisely what competitive education in India has needed for years.

Ahead

Whether Khan Sir's legal troubles affect his platform's momentum remains to be seen. But for now, his story sits at an unusual intersection: a man who built a crore-valued enterprise by charging students almost nothing, and walked away from nine-figure offers to keep it that way.

12 Teacher Unions Form Joint Front Against MP's Mandatory TET Order

Over 1.5 lakh teachers face uncertainty as 12 unions announce phased protests from April 8–18, culminating in a 'Chief Minister Request March' in Bhopal

Unified Front Takes Shape

Twelve of Madhya Pradesh's major teacher organisations have come together to form the Adhyapak-Shikshak Sanyukt Morcha, a unified front against the state government's order mandating the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for in-service educators. The coalition, formed after a joint meeting in Bhopal, marks a shift in strategy — from fragmented individual protests to a single coordinated agitation. According to sources close to the Morcha, the decision reflects deepening frustration over what leaders describe as a policy that puts job security at risk for hundreds of thousands of teachers.

A Phased Protest Plan

The joint front has announced a structured 10-day agitation beginning April 8 and building toward a decisive demonstration on April 18. The roadmap is as follows: district-level demonstrations on April 8 will be followed by block-level sit-ins on April 11, where teachers plan to approach local elected representatives. The campaign will culminate on April 18, when teachers from across the state are expected to gather in Bhopal for the Mukhyamantri Anurodh Yatra — a procession appealing directly to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to intervene. Morcha member Upendra Kaushal confirmed that the phased approach is designed to build sustained public and political pressure, India News Update reports.

The Grievance: Retroactive Rules

At the heart of the TET controversy is a policy question with significant legal dimensions. Shaskiya Shikshak Sangathan president Rakesh Dubey stated that thousands of teachers were appointed between 1995 and 2011 under the rules that were in force at the time. Holding those teachers to a qualification standard introduced decades later, he argued, amounts to retrospective regulation — legally questionable and administratively unjust. "You cannot change the conditions of service mid-career without consequence," Dubey told the gathering, as per reports.

DPI Order Sparks Confusion

A key trigger for the current agitation is an order from the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) that teacher unions say lacks critical clarity. The order does not specify which categories of teachers must appear for TET and which are exempted, according to officials within the union body. This ambiguity has left approximately 1.5 lakh serving teachers in a state of anxiety over their employment status, with many unsure whether their positions are at risk. The Morcha has demanded the order be withdrawn immediately pending a comprehensive review.

Review Petition Demand

A central demand of the united front is that the Madhya Pradesh government file a review petition before the Supreme Court challenging the apex court's ruling that forms the basis of the TET mandate. Union leaders pointed out that several other states have already moved such petitions, while MP has yet to take any formal legal step. The delay, they say, puts the state's teachers at a disadvantage compared to counterparts elsewhere in the country.

Seniority Rules Also on the Agenda

The TET question is not the only issue animating the Morcha. Azad Adhyapak Sangh state president Shilpi Shivhan told the gathering that seniority calculation based on appointment dates has been a long-pending dispute. She confirmed that the unresolved seniority issue will form part of the agitation's agenda as well, making the movement broader than a single-issue campaign.

What Comes Next

As of now, the state government has not issued a formal response to the Morcha's demands or the announcement of the April 8–18 protest schedule. If authorities do not act before then, teachers are expected to proceed as planned — with district-level protests setting the tone for a statewide convergence in Bhopal on April 18. The government's next move on the DPI order and the question of a Supreme Court review petition will likely determine whether the stand-off escalates. For over 1.5 lakh educators across Madhya Pradesh, the TET controversy is no longer a distant policy debate — it is a question of livelihood and professional future.

In a move that has ignited a fierce national debate, newly implemented regulations by the University Grants Commission (UGC) aimed at combating caste-based discrimination in higher education have been met with widespread protests and political resignations. As demonstrations spread across multiple states, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stepped in to assure the public that theUGC regulations 2026 will not be misused, while the government prepares an official clarification.

The controversy centers on theUGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, notified on January 13. These rules mandate all universities and colleges to establish rigorous mechanisms—includingEqual Opportunity Centres, Equity Committees, and 24/7 helplines—to address discrimination complaints, particularly from students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). The regulations replace a 2012 framework and were developed following a Supreme Court order related to petitions filed by the families ofRohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, students who died by suicide after alleged caste-based harassment.

What the New UGC Regulations Mandate

The 2026 regulations represent a significant shift from advisory guidelines to an enforceable legal framework with strict accountability. The core objective is to "eradicate discrimination" based on caste, religion, gender, disability, and other grounds, with a specific focus on protecting historically disadvantaged groups.

Table: Key Provisions of UGC Regulations 2026

|Provision |Key Requirement |Accountability Measure |

|Equal Opportunity Centre (EOC) | Must be established at every institution to implement equity policies and handle complaints. | Heads of institutions are directly accountable for compliance. |

|Equity Committee | A 10-member body, chaired by the institution head, must include representation from SC, ST, OBC, women, and persons with disabilities. | Must meet within24 hours of a complaint and submit a report in15 days. |

|Equity Squads & Helpline | Mobile squads to monitor campus "vulnerable spots" and a 24-hour helpline for reporting. | Institutions must submit bi-annual transparency reports to the UGC. |

|Non-Compliance Penalties | --- | Institutions face debarment from UGC schemes, suspension of degree programs, or loss of recognition. |

The Heart of the Controversy and Mounting Protests

Despite the stated aim of creating inclusive campuses, the regulations have triggered a vehement backlash, primarily from groups representinggeneral category students. Protests have erupted in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Varanasi), Rajasthan, and Bihar.

The opposition is fueled by several key concerns:

 Perceived Exclusion: Protesters argue the rules are "non-inclusionary" as the defined protected categories (SC, ST, OBC) do not explicitly include general category students, leaving them without a clear grievance path under this framework.

 Fear of Misuse and Lack of Safeguards: A major point of contention is the removal of a "false complaints" clause from the draft version. Critics fear this could lead to harassment and that theaccused have few procedural safeguards.

 Broad Definitions: Terms like "discrimination" and "indirect unfair treatment" are viewed as overly broad, granting significant discretionary power to Equity Committees.

The dissent has moved beyond student protests. ABareilly City Magistrate resigned, calling the rules a "black law". Several local BJP office-bearers in Uttar Pradesh have also resigned. The issue has reached the judiciary, with at least onePublic Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court challenging the regulations as discriminatory and violative of constitutional principles of equality.

Government's Stance and the Path Forward

In response to the escalating crisis, the government has initiated damage control. Education MinisterDharmendra Pradhan publicly assured that "there will be no discrimination and no one can misuse the law". Ministry sources indicate a detailed clarification is being prepared to counter "misinformation" and affirm that misuse"will not be allowed under any circumstances".

The government defends the rules as a necessary response to hard data. The UGC has cited its own reports showing thatcomplaints of caste-based discrimination surged by 118% from 2019-20 to 2023-24, underscoring the need for a stronger systemic response.

The unfolding situation presents a complex challenge for India's higher education landscape. As institutions scramble to implement the new structures, the nation watches to see if this ambitious framework can achieve its goal of fostering truly equitable campuses or if the fears of increased polarization will materialize. The coming weeks, marked by promised government clarifications and potential judicial review, will be critical in determining the fate of these contentious regulations.