PhysicsWallah's Strategic Shift: From Test Prep Empire to School Education Pioneer
After revolutionizing India's test preparation industry, edtech leader PhysicsWallah is embarking on an ambitious new journey—transforming the very foundation of Indian education through K-12 schools. The Noida-based company, which built its reputation helping students crack high-stakes entrance exams like JEE and NEET, now believes the most sustainable path to educational improvement lies in fixing school education itself.
The K-12 Vision: A Long-Term Transformation Strategy
During its recent earnings call, PhysicsWallah executives outlined comprehensive plans to deepen their involvement in the K-12 segment. While this segment currently contributes less than 1% of the company's revenue, leadership envisions it eventually surpassing their core test-preparation business, which currently accounts for 97% of revenue.
"For now, the K-12 push is unlikely to move the needle on revenues," acknowledged Prateek Boob, co-founder of the recently listed PhysicsWallah. "But in the longer run, this will become a meaningful contributor to Ebitda. Five years from now, K-12 will be a larger business than test preparation."
Addressing Structural Gaps in Indian Education
The company's leadership argues that traditional coaching often begins too late to fundamentally change student outcomes. "By the time students enter Class 11, the damage is already done," Boob explained, highlighting persistent structural gaps in school-level preparation for engineering and medical entrance examinations.
This strategic shift comes as interest in the schooling segment grows across India's education sector. Major players like ALLEN Career Institute are expanding into schools and higher education, while private equity firms are increasing investments in school chains. Recent reports indicate K-12 Techno Services, which operates Orchids International Schools, is negotiating a funding round exceeding $150 million with investors including Vitruvian Partners.
A ₹400 Crore Investment in Educational Infrastructure
PhysicsWallah has allocated ₹400 crore specifically for building its K-12 platform through Pen Pencil, its school management division responsible for school partnerships and owned-school initiatives. "We have allocated ₹400 crore so far for building the K-12 platform," confirmed company CFO Amit Sachdeva during analyst discussions. "Once we go through our planning cycle for the next year, we will review where we are and take a fresh view on increasing this allocation."
Multiple Models for School Integration
The company's school strategy encompasses several approaches:
- Partnerships with existing schools through network integration programmes
- Greenfield and brownfield school development projects
- Full management control in select cases, such as the Tender Heart School partnership
This comprehensive approach addresses growing parental demand for integrated educational setups that eliminate the exhausting double workload many students currently endure—attending school in the morning and coaching classes later in the day.
Leveraging Technology and Experience
PhysicsWallah believes its experience operating technology-enabled coaching centres through its Vidyapeeth network provides a competitive advantage in the school segment. "If we can create value for a Grade 8, 9 or 10 student in Vidyapeeth, we can create similar value in a school environment," Boob explained, describing the strategy as creating "test-prep-branded schools" supported by standardized curriculum, innovative pedagogy, and data-driven systems.
Financial Performance and Strategic Positioning
The K-12 expansion represents one of four key focus areas for PhysicsWallah, alongside offline expansion, strategic acquisitions, and artificial intelligence integration. The company's financial performance remains robust, with December quarter (Q3FY26) operational revenue increasing 34% year-on-year to ₹1,082 crore. Net profit reached ₹102 crore, maintaining a 9% margin despite one-time expenses related to labour code changes and IPO costs.
For the first nine months of FY26, revenue grew 31% year-on-year to ₹2,980 crore, already surpassing the full-year FY25 revenue of ₹2,886 crore. The business maintains a balanced revenue mix, with online education contributing approximately 51% and the offline segment accounting for 46% during this period.
Learning from Global Models and Past Experiences
PhysicsWallah's leadership points to comparable models in markets like China, where K-12 education eventually generated higher revenues than test preparation. The company acknowledges previous challenges in the segment, noting that edtech players like Byju's faced difficulties monetizing K-12 students through after-school education models.
PhysicsWallah initially entered K-12 through smaller online offerings and its early-learning brand Curious Junior in 2023 but is now making a more substantial commitment to mainstream school education through physical schools. This represents a broader evolution from a test-prep specialist to a comprehensive, full-stack education platform positioned to address India's educational challenges at their root.
