60-second teacher: When private tuition is out of reach, AI steps in
60-second teacher: When private tuition is out of reach, AI steps in
The Indian state of Bihar is leading the push to bridge teacher shortages and improve access to learning for students from low-income backgrounds
Kajal Kumari, a 15-year-old in a government school in Patna, the capital of the northern Indian state of Bihar, can now do something unheard of for a government school student. She can open an app on her mobile phone and get connected with a live tutor within a minute.
Kajal comes from a small family where every penny counts, and excelling academically often means paying for private tuition. This is not rare in India, where education is generally not free. But in Bihar in particular, education expenses are often beyond what families can afford. The state is one of the poorest in the country, with a per capita income of around $384 – just 31.7% of .
Kajal told RT that she was struggling to prepare for entrance exams without receiving private coaching, when a state-sponsored AI-enabled learning program came up.
In our families, daily house expenses are difficult, and affording private tuition is out of the question), Kajal told RT India.
She added that for students like her, getting a tutor online means getting help without the need to travel to bigger cities. It is not possible for all of us to migrate for getting education.
A student taking a live session on an AI platform in a remote area in Bihar, India. © Filo EdTech INC
Driving the changeBihar is leading this shift with the recently launched Vidya Saathi platform, which has already connected more than 300,000 secondary students to round-the-clock, AI-driven learning tools. It is a state-backed digital initiative managed by the Bihar School Examination Board in partnership with the Filo AI platform.
Speaking at a high-level departmental review meeting at the Bihar School Examination Board auditorium in Patna, Bihar’s education minister, Mithilesh Tiwari, said 73% of the students registered on the platform are from rural areas. He added that the government wants to make the education system in the state more technology-based, transparent, and secure.
The program is a great way to help students in public schools, a state education official who asked to remain anonymous said.
We are talking about kids in classes 9 to 12 who can now get help anytime they need it. The program uses AI to make studying easier and also gives them access to live tutors. This means they can... prepare for big exams like the Joint Entrance Examination and National Eligibility Entrance Test right away, the official explained. The best part is that it’s all free and connected to school computer labs, so a kid from a small village can get the same kind of coaching that only kids in cities used to get.
Students asking a question on the instant tutoring app in Dumka district in Jharkhand, India. © Filo EdTech INC Currently rolled out across 700 model secondary schools in all 38 districts of the state, the program provides free one-on-one live tutoring for classes 9 and 10, as well as senior secondary science streams (classes 11 and 12). Through Filo’s AI-driven matching engine, a student can upload a textbook question and get connected via video to a live tutor in under 60 seconds.
Getting help when you need it is the challenge of using AI in education, Filo co-founder Rohit Kumar said. We are using AI to link students with real teachers who can provide one-on-one help in just 60 seconds, anytime of the day or night. This way, a teacher can work through a problem with a student, figure out where they’re getting stuck, and explain it in a way that makes sense to them.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary attended the Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM)-2026 at Government Middle School, Ramjichak, Bataganj at Danapur on September 26, 2026 in Patna, India. © Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Modi’s big bet on AIAI adoption in Indian education is being driven f
