Expert Interview: Students and Parents (Tier 2/3 India)

Context for the Expert

Project Disha is designing a 6-month skill development program in Tier 2/3 cities that trains 18-24 year olds for jobs in IT services, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. The program combines physical training centers with digital learning and aims to place graduates directly into employment. We charge Rs 30K-2L depending on the track, with EMI and income-share options available.

What We're Trying to Learn

How students and parents in Tier 2/3 India actually make education and career decisions — who holds the veto, what information they seek, what would make them trust a new training brand over the familiar degree path, what they can realistically pay, and what "success" looks like in their eyes. We need real decision-making behavior, not aspirational answers.

Important: Interview Protocol

Interview students (age 18-24, post-12th pass, from Tier 2/3 cities) and parents separately. Parents will be more honest about finances and risk perception without the student present. Students will be more honest about aspirations and digital habits without the parent present. Conduct in the respondent's preferred language — Hindi or regional.

Red Flags to Watch For

  • Socially desirable answers ("I want to learn and grow") that mask the real motivation (salary, family pressure, visa)
  • Parent says "it's the child's decision" — probe deeper; in Tier 2/3 India, parents almost always hold financial and social veto
  • Student claims high willingness to pay but cannot describe how the family would fund it
  • Respondent compares your program to IIT/AIIMS coaching — signals a mismatch in target segment
  • "Yes, I would do this" without being able to articulate what they'd give up (the opportunity cost question)
  • Excessive agreement — respondent is being polite, not honest. Reframe questions as trade-offs

Questions

Decision-Making

  1. Walk me through how your family decided what to do after 12th. Who brought up the options? Who had the final say? What information did you look for, and where — YouTube, relatives, coaching center counselors, someone else?
  2. What other options are you currently considering or have considered? Degree college, diploma, coaching for competitive exams, direct job, family business, going abroad? How are you comparing them — on cost, duration, job outcome, or social standing?
  3. If two programs offered the same job placement but one was a 3-year degree and the other a 6-month skill program, which would your family choose and why? What would the 6-month program need to prove for you to pick it?

Trust Signals

  1. What would make you trust a training institute you've never heard of? Would it matter if they showed you placement letters from the previous batch? If an employer you recognize endorsed them? If a relative or neighbor's child had gone there? Rank what would convince you most.
  2. What would your relatives and community say if you chose a 6-month skill program instead of a degree? Does that social perception matter to your decision? What would change their opinion — the salary you earn, the company name on your ID card, something else?
  3. Have you or anyone in your family been cheated or disappointed by a coaching center, college, or training program? What happened, and how has that experience changed what you look for now?

Willingness to Pay

  1. How much is your family currently spending or prepared to spend on education after 12th — per year, all included? Tuition, hostel, books, transport, coaching. Where is this money coming from — savings, loan, relative support, selling an asset?
  2. If the program fee were Rs 60,000 for 6 months, could your family pay it? What about Rs 1,20,000? How would you pay — lump sum, EMI, education loan? What's the maximum monthly EMI your family could handle without stress?
  3. If we said "pay nothing now, pay 15% of your salary for 2 years after you get a job" — how would you react to that? Does it sound attractive or suspicious? Would your parents agree to sign that kind of agreement?

Digital Readiness

  1. Do you have your own smartphone with regular internet access? How many hours a day do you spend on it, and doing what — social media, YouTube, gaming, studying? Have you ever completed an online course or tutorial? What happened — did you finish it?
  2. In what language would you prefer to learn technical skills? English, Hindi, or your mother tongue? If the instructor spoke in Kannada/Telugu/Tamil but the slides and software were in English, would that work for you?

Aspirations

  1. Describe your dream job — not the job title, but the life. What salary? What city? What kind of company? What would your daily routine look like? How soon do you need to start earning — is there a family financial pressure with a deadline?
  2. Would you relocate to another city for a job paying Rs 18,000-25,000 per month? What's the minimum salary that would make relocation worth it? What would your parents need to feel comfortable — company accommodation, a known contact in that city, something else?
  3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Do you plan to stay in the first job, move up, start something of your own, or go abroad? Does the training program's value end at the first job, or do you expect ongoing support?

For Parents Specifically

  1. What is the single most important outcome you want from your child's education — a degree certificate, a specific salary, a government job, family business skills, or social status? If you had to pick only one, which is it? And what is the biggest risk you worry about — wasted money, wasted time, or your child ending up worse off than peers?