Mumbai: Thousands of students and parents have been left scrambling after the well-known coaching institute Mahesh Tutorials abruptly shut at least 33 centres across Maharashtra last week, despite having already completed admissions and collected fees for the current academic year.
Event Context
The closure has affected around 2,500 students in Classes 10 and 12, along with hundreds of CBSE and ICSE students, as well as several teachers and non-teaching staff.
The shutdown has renewed focus on the financial troubles of the coaching chain’s parent company, MT Educare Ltd, which has been undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) since December 2022 after an order by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The company’s latest available audit report, for the quarter ended September 2025, said its future remained uncertain because of mounting losses and financial stress, with outstanding dues of about ₹74.29 crore.
Founded in 1988, Mahesh Tutorials was once among Maharashtra’s largest coaching chains, particularly dominant in Mumbai’s SSC and HSC coaching market.
In a statement, Arihant Academy said Mahesh Tutorials had approached it last month seeking help because of its operational problems, but denied reports that it had taken over the coaching chain. It said it had only agreed to support eligible students “on humanitarian grounds”.
Team Analysis
Pradeep Magre, president of Sanskruti Jeevan Aadhar Foundation, an educational consultancy, said he had written to the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, and the school education department, seeking immediate government intervention.
He has demanded a high-level inquiry, alternative arrangements for students, a fee audit, pro rata fee refunds, payment of pending salaries for teachers, and a separate regulatory system for private coaching institutes.
“I have already sent a legal notice to the class owner. If I do not receive a satisfactory reply, I will file a police complaint. If the company was already under the NCLT process, why were admissions and fee collections continued?” he said.
Meanwhile, Arihant Academy has announced that it will admit affected students without charging additional tuition fees. It has also offered employment to teachers and non-teaching staff affected by the closure.
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According to people familiar with the matter, the company decided to suspend operations from July 10 after a meeting with branch heads on July 7. By then, admissions for the 2026-27 academic year had been completed, and fees had already been collected from parents.
Hindustan Times reached out to Mahesh Tutorials for comment, but did not receive a response.
Several parents told HT they had paid fees running into lakhs of rupees for the 2026-27 academic year, and were now uncertain about refunds. Parents of students enrolled at the Matunga branch said they were called for a meeting, where they were informed that the company was facing financial problems. Online classes were conducted for a few days, after which students were given the option of joining integrated classes. However, when parents asked for refunds, they were told that the company did not have enough funds.
According to parents, fees ranged between ₹1.8 lakh and ₹2.4 lakh for Classes 11 and 12, while long-term coaching programmes cost ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Many said they are now facing a huge financial burden as they may have to pay fees again at another coaching institute.
