Akhilesh Yadav slams UP's coaching crackdown as extortion
Synopsis
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the Uttar Pradesh BJP government on 24 June 2026, calling its coaching-centre crackdown a corruption racket disguised as safety enforcement, and warned that lakhs of competitive-exam students would suffer from abrupt closures.
Key Takeaways
Akhilesh Yadav on 24 June 2026 called the UP government's coaching-centre action a 'coaching bandi' and alleged it is a front for extorting crores from operators.
He questioned how enough government staff appeared in one day to serve notices to thousands of coaching centres across the state.
Yadav asked why the government was inactive on safety norms for the past 10 years if the concern was genuine.
He warned that abrupt closures will hurt lakhs of students preparing for NEET, JEE, UPSC, UPPSC and SSC exams, many of whom are paying rent mid-course.
He proposed that instead of shutting centres, the government should issue notices directing immediate safety compliance so students can complete their courses.
Yadav ended with a political challenge: a 'corruption shutdown' by BJP would solve every problem, signalling the SP will use this issue electorally.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, sharply attacked the Uttar Pradesh BJP government over what he called a 'coaching bandi' (coaching shutdown), alleging that safety-norm enforcement drives against private coaching centres are a cover for large-scale corruption and rent-seeking by the ruling dispensation.
Context
Yadav posted in Hindi on X, questioning how the state administration suddenly mobilised enough staff in a single day to issue notices to thousands of coaching centres across the entire state. 'The truth is that a game of extorting crores has begun in the name of safety standards and permissions,' he wrote, adding that 'Bhajpai aapda mein sampada dhundh lete hain' — 'BJP people find wealth in disasters.'
He also questioned the government's decade-long inaction: 'Was the government sleeping for the last 10 years?' The post was hashtagged #NEET #JEE #SSC #Students #UPSC #UPPSC, signalling his concern for students preparing for national and state competitive examinations.
Policy Backdrop
The Uttar Pradesh government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has periodically issued fire-safety and building-code guidelines for educational institutions, a trend that intensified after safety incidents at private establishments in the 2010s. The coaching sector in the state expanded rapidly following the centralisation of entrance examinations such as NEET and JEE from the mid-2010s onward, drawing lakhs of students from across the country to coaching hubs.
Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh have consistently framed enforcement drives on private coaching centres as either anti-student or as opportunities for official rent-seeking — a political argument Yadav is now reviving with renewed force.
Stakeholders and Impact
Yadav argued that shutting coaching institutes would hurt lakhs of students mid-course, many of whom are paying rent and living away from home to prepare for exams such as UPSC, UPPSC, NEET, JEE and SSC. 'What will happen to those lakhs of children who are preparing?' he asked, proposing instead that the government issue notices directing centres to immediately comply with safety standards so that 'children living on rent can finish their courses on time.'
He further warned that such a 'coaching bandi' would add to the financial burden of families already struggling with inflation. Coaching-centre operators, students and their parents across Uttar Pradesh are the most directly affected stakeholders, with any prolonged closure potentially disrupting examination cycles for NEET and JEE aspirants in particular.
What's Next
Attention will now turn to any compliance deadlines the Uttar Pradesh government sets for coaching centres, and whether the administration clarifies the scope and legal basis of the notices already served. Legislative debate in the UP assembly and possible legal challenges by coaching-centre associations are both plausible next steps.
Yadav ended his post with a pointed political barb: 'If BJP enforces a "bhrashtachar bandi" (corruption shutdown) on itself, every problem will find a solution' — a line that signals the Samajwadi Party intends to keep this issue alive heading into future electoral cycles in Uttar Pradesh.
Point of View
While positioning the SP as the defender of aspirational youth. The hashtag cluster — NEET, JEE, UPSC, UPPSC, SSC — is a deliberate signal to a politically conscious, digitally active demographic that the SP is watching for their interests. The extortion allegation, though unverified, is politically potent because it echoes broader public scepticism about sudden, large-scale regulatory sweeps. If the UP government does not provide a transparent account of the notice-issuance process and its legal basis, Yadav's framing could gain traction well beyond his core voter base.
NationPress
25 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 'coaching bandi' Akhilesh Yadav is talking about?
'Coaching bandi' refers to the Uttar Pradesh government's action of issuing notices to and effectively shutting down private coaching centres, ostensibly for failing to meet safety and regulatory standards. Akhilesh Yadav used the term on 24 June 2026 to criticise this crackdown as arbitrary and corrupt.
Why is Akhilesh Yadav opposing the UP coaching centre crackdown?
Yadav argues the enforcement drive is not a genuine safety measure but a pretext for extorting crores from coaching institute operators. He also says that closing centres mid-session harms lakhs of students preparing for exams like NEET, JEE, UPSC and SSC.
Which students are affected by the UP coaching centre notices?
Students preparing for competitive examinations including NEET, JEE, UPSC, UPPSC and SSC are the most directly affected. Many of these students live on rent near coaching hubs in Uttar Pradesh and risk having their courses disrupted mid-preparation.
What does Akhilesh Yadav suggest the UP government should do instead?
He suggests the government should issue notices directing coaching centres to comply with safety standards immediately, rather than shutting them down, so that students living on rent can complete their courses on time without financial disruption.
Has the BJP government in UP regulated coaching centres before?
Yes. The Uttar Pradesh government has periodically issued fire-safety and building-code guidelines for educational institutions, a practice that dates to safety incidents in the 2010s. The current crackdown appears to be a more intensive version of those recurring regulatory drives.
