A 150 kilometres from Jaipur, on the highway that runs past the pilgrimage town of Khatu Shyamji, as one drives along NH-52, large billboards begin to appear on either side, filled with images of students wearing garlands and flashing victory signs. As the road approaches the town of Sikar, the hoardings grow bigger, competing for space and attention.
These larger-than-life advertisements belong to coaching institutes in Rajasthan's Sikar town, selling bigger-than-life dreams to thousands of middle-class Indian families whose ambition is to see their children become doctors or engineers - professions still widely regarded as respectable and a pathway to upward social mobility.
But Sikar has also been in the news recently, and not for all the right reasons. The NEET paper leak was traced to Sikar after a coaching teacher, who taught chemistry in one of its coaching hubs, received the paper through his landlord, a hostel owner. The hostel owner, in turn, had obtained it from his son, an MBBS student in Kerala, who had received it from a friend in Sikar.
Investigative agencies believe that the "guess paper", which later turned out to be the leaked NEET examination paper, was circulating in Sikar town between April 30 and May 3, when the exam was held. The chemistry teacher from Sikar wrote an email to the NTA, blowing the lid off the paper leak scandal, and it was following these leads that investigative agencies eventually reached the main source of the leak in Haryana and Maharashtra.
However, if Sikar played a role in exposing the NEET paper leak, it has also, in recent years, established itself as an emerging coaching hub on Rajasthan's educational map - one long dominated by Kota.
Kota, with its high success rate in NEET and JEE, remains a preferred destination for students across India. But there is also a darker side to its success story - student suicides and the loneliness and isolation that come with a highly competitive environment. In the past year alone, Kota reported 13 student suicides, and in the past decade, nearly 100 such cases.
In contrast, the statistics in Sikar tell a different story. Suicides have not been Sikar's headline concern, with the only widely reported case in 2024 being that of a 17-year-old student who died by suicide on July 1, 2024, after appearing for the NEET examination.
Somewhere, these differences have worked in Sikar's favour. Parents, concerned about Kota's suicide rates, are increasingly turning to Sikar.
This is one reason why Sikar is slowly emerging as the "B-town" of coaching, where institutes exist, but alongside academics there is a familiar, small-town atmosphere that appeals to students from modest backgrounds.
Unlike Kota, Sikar is not a large city. There are no flashy hostels, and not even a mall. The city has only one cinema hall. In many ways, it is still a large town, gradually transforming into a NEET-JEE coaching hub. This is precisely what makes it more accessible to middle-class families, families who dream of making their children doctors and engineers but cannot afford the scale and expenses of Kota.
"My father dreamed that I would become a doctor. In 2016, when I was in Class 6, I saw Shoaib Aftab's photograph in the newspaper after he secured All India Rank 1. That day, I decided I would also bring AIR 1. During COVID, my mother died of a heart attack. Since then, I have wanted to become a cardiologist. Now my father is gone too. Fulfilling his dream is my only purpose. This was my first attempt alongside Class 12, and I was expecting around 690 marks. The paper got cancelled, but I am happy I will get another chance. Next time, I will score above 710," said Pavitra Chaudhary (17), who prepares for NEET in Sikar, speaking with eyes filled with both disappointment and determination.
Pavitra is from Jankipura village in Srimadhopur. His father had dreamt since childhood of making him a doctor. Just six months before the exam, on December 17 last year, his father died in a road accident.
"After that, I was deeply disturbed," Pavitra said. "But I explained things to myself. I try not to think too much now, because the more I think, the worse it feels. I only want to fulfil my father's dream. My one goal is to secure All India Rank 1."
Pavitra now lives with his younger brother at his maternal uncle's home in Chomu near Jaipur. His uncle pays for his studies, while the coaching institute has waived both his fees and hostel charges.
Like Pavitra, Akhtar Ansari also came to Sikar to prepare for NEET. He belongs to Mughal Toli village in Piparwar Siwan panchayat of Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district. His father, Hisabuddin Ansari, is a small farmer who also works as a labourer for a bamboo contractor.
Hisabuddin dreamed that if anyone from their village became a doctor first, it would be someone from his own family.
He first sent his son to Kanpur for studies, then to Kota. Last year, Akhtar shifted to Sikar.
"This was my seventh attempt. According to the answer key, I was scoring around 652. I thought I would finally get selected this time. When I told Abbu over the phone, he became so happy that he went to the tea stall in the village and told everyone his son had become a doctor. Earlier this January, he had sold land so I could continue studying. My mother's jewellery was also mortgaged. When the news of the paper cancellation came, it felt terrible. But Abbu told me to keep working hard and not lose hope. He said no matter what happens, they will make me a doctor."
Akhtar recalled the events of the past week with moist eyes and a faint smile. Now he has begun preparing again for the June 21 examination.
Education expert and Gurukripa Institute director Pradeep Budania says there is a significant difference between Sikar and Kota. The biggest, according to him, is cost. Studying in Sikar costs nearly half of what it does in Kota. Even coaching institutes that expand from Kota are forced to reduce fees and offer larger scholarships here.
"The environment here is also very different," Budania says. "Students here think in one direction only. There are fewer distractions. Hostel and PG owners are mostly local villagers who genuinely take care of the children. Sikar still retains the warmth of a small town."
According to him, most students in Sikar come from small towns and villages, especially from the Shekhawati region and neighbouring areas of Haryana. These students require more personal attention.
"That's the difference between Kota and Sikar," he said. "Kota may produce top ranks, but Sikar sees a larger number of selections overall. And now even top rankers are beginning to emerge from here."
Kota, he added, has become deeply commercialised. Students there live in hostels, study, and take exams, but remain disconnected from the city itself. "In Kota, students have become a source of income," he said. "And after the growing number of student suicide cases there, many parents now prefer the smaller-town atmosphere of Sikar."
Budania also points to numbers. While the number of students going to Kota has declined, Sikar has seen nearly a threefold increase in student enrolment between 2021 and 2025.
Students from the Shekhawati region, including districts like Jhunjhunu and Churu, make up a large percentage of the student population. Apart from them, students from Haryana and some from Punjab also come to Sikar, though pan-India representation remains limited.
Hostel and PG accommodation is also cheaper. Rooms range from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 in Sikar, unlike Kota, where even high-end apartments are available at much higher prices.
Sikar's prominent coaching institutes include Gurukripa, CLC, and Matrix, while Kota boasts coaching giants like Allen and Resonance, which have a multi-India presence.
After the 2024 paper leak controversy, the Supreme Court ordered the NTA to release examination results according to exam centres. Sikar then emerged with the highest number of toppers with high percentiles. Although the exam was cancelled, it brought Sikar into national focus. This year too, the city returned to the spotlight after another paper leak controversy. The whistleblower who exposed the leak, Shashikant Suthar, teaches in Sikar itself.
But as controversies continue to put Sikar in the headlines, the city is steadily emerging as the "B-town" of coaching, accessible to ordinary middle-class families, affordable, and homely.
