Srinagar, June 1, KNT: The declaration of JEE Advanced 2026 results has once again highlighted a distinctive trend within Kashmir’s private coaching landscape, where engineering entrance preparation continues to occupy limited space compared to the far larger and commercially dominant NEET segment.
While national attention centered on All India Rank holders and IIT admissions, the examination also brought into focus the relatively modest footprint of JEE Advanced coaching in Kashmir, where most private institutes primarily cater to medical aspirants.
Education stakeholders say only a small number of institutes in Kashmir operate dedicated JEE Advanced batches, largely because student demand remains comparatively limited and the coaching ecosystem is heavily oriented toward NEET preparation.
JEE Advanced, the gateway to admission into Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), is widely regarded as among India’s most competitive examinations.
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Nationally, Shubham Kumar from the IIT Delhi zone secured All India Rank 1 with 330 marks out of 360, while Arohi Deshpande emerged as the highest-ranked female candidate with 280 marks and secured 77th rank in the Common Rank List.
Out of 1,87,389 registered candidates, 1,79,694 appeared in both examination papers conducted on May 17, and 56,880 qualified, including 10,107 female candidates.
In Kashmir, however, the conversation surrounding JEE Advanced often intersects with the structure and economics of the coaching industry itself.
Among the limited number of institutions conducting JEE Advanced programmes are Rise Institute and Aakash Institute.
According to Rise Institute, at least 15 students from the institute have qualified JEE Advanced this year.
Of the successful candidates, nine are boys and six are girls, including two female students from Kargil.
Institute representatives said only a small number qualified under reserved categories while the majority cleared the examination on open merit.
Mubeen Ahmad of Rise Institute said engineering coaching remains a comparatively smaller segment in Kashmir’s educational market.
“Kashmir coaching is largely NEET-based,” he said, adding that Rise Institute has consistently maintained JEE preparation alongside medical coaching.
He claimed that Rise Institute had developed into a recognizable academic brand where students regularly qualify JEE Main and JEE Advanced examinations.
Aakash Institute officials said they too conduct JEE Advanced batches, although the institution has yet to compile its final success data.
Nayeem Ahmed from Aakash Institute said the institute was assessing the number of successful candidates and expected to make the results public on Tuesday.
Education observers say the Valley’s coaching industry is largely structured around NEET preparation due to significantly larger student enrolment and stronger commercial viability.
The preference for medical coaching is also shaped by sustained student flow and revenue considerations, leading many institutes to focus almost exclusively on NEET-oriented programmes.
Even national coaching brands operating in Kashmir are often seen tailoring their offerings to local demand patterns.
Stakeholders pointed out that centres such as Physics Wallah presently focus mainly on NEET classes in Kashmir, reflecting prevailing market realities.
The trend underscores a broader educational pattern in Kashmir where medical entrance coaching continues to dominate student aspirations and institutional investment, while engineering-focused coaching, particularly at the JEE Advanced level, remains a comparatively specialized and limited segment. [KNT]
