Mumbai, Oct. 11 -- Rakesh Goyal, a 35-year-old mathematics teacher originally from Dabla, a small village in Rajasthan, could easily have built a career overseas as a researcher. After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, Goyal went to Washington State University in 2013, and was set for a well-paying career as an electrical and computer engineering researcher. Instead, he chose to return to India to pursue what he described as his real calling: teaching.

Over nearly nine years, he worked as a mathematics faculty member at companies such as Resonance and Byju's-run Toppr. That was until 2022, when his career took off during the offline coaching boom, as edtech disruptors began offering renowned teachers packages in ...