Lok Sabha Question No. 77 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-03
Subject: Entrance Coaching Institutes
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. K Sudhakar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 77 ANSWERED ON 03.02.2025

## Entrance Coaching Institutes

## 77. Dr. K Sudhakar:

## Will the Minister of EDUCATION

be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  noticed  that  a  large  number  of  entrance  coaching  institutes without any credentials operate across the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has noticed that the entrance coaching institutes mint money in the name of assured ranks in entrance examinations often looting the general public, if so, the steps taken by the Government to regulate the sector;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to ensure that space of public educational institutions is not utilised by private institutions for conducting coaching classes for entrance examination;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to ensure that the State provides coaching to students for various competitive entrance examinations;
- (e) the steps/measures being taken by the Government to ensure that such coaching institutes are prohibited from using successful children to market their institutions; and
- (f) whether the Government has any data of such coaching institutes and if so, the details thereof, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a) to (f): Keeping in view the growth in number of unregulated private coaching centres in the country in the absence of any laid down policy or regulation; instances of such centers charging exorbitant fees from students; making misleading promises or guarantee of rank or good marks to parents/students  for  enrolling  them  in  the  coaching  center  and  many  other  malpractices  being adopted  by  these  centres,  Department  of  Higher  Education,  Ministry  of  Education  (MoE)  has circulated a Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Center to States/UTs on 16.01.2024. This has been followed up with another letter to the States/ UTs on 16.07.2024. Education being in the concurrent list, the State and UT Governments need to take further action by way of appropriate legal framework. The guidelines for regulation of coaching centres are accessible at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/Guideliens\_Coaching\_Centres\_en.pdf

The Guidelines encompasses several key aspects, including defining coaching centers, specifying conditions  and  necessary  documents  for  registration;  outlining  infrastructure  prerequisites  for establishing  coaching  centers;  the  fee  charged  for  courses  /  curriculum  shall  be  fair  and reasonable; under no circumstances the fee shall be increased during the currency of the course; easy exit policy and refund of fee on pro-rata basis; coaching classes for those students who are also studying in institutions / schools shall not be conducted during their institutions / schools' hours so that their regular attendance in such institutions / schools remains unaffected and also to avoid  dummy  schools.  The  guidelines  stipulate  that  no  coaching  center  shall  publish  any misleading advertisement. The guidelines, further stipulate continuous monitoring of activities of the coaching centers; introducing a complaint mechanism and disposal thereof; penalties; process for cancellation of registration and appeals etc.

SATHEE platform has been launched by MoE to provide high-quality content for the competitive examinations  like  JEE  and  NEET,  along  with  providing  an  online  assessment  module  for students. It leverages Web Platform, Mobile Application, YouTube live sessions & DTH channels for delivery. More than 10,000 Hours of Learning Content is available across topics and subjects for the learners.

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection Authority  is  mandated  to  prevent  and  regulate  false  or  misleading  advertisements  which  are prejudicial to the public interest. Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken action against misleading advertisement by coaching centers. In this regard, CCPA has issued 46 notices to various coaching centers for misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice. The CCPA has imposed  a  penalty  of  72  lakhs  60  thousands  on  23  coaching  institutes  and  directed  them  to discontinue the misleading advertisements.

To protect the rights of consumers and maintain transparency in the coaching sector, the CCPA has  issued  comprehensive  guidelines  to  address  the  issue  of  misleading  advertisements  in  the coaching  sector.  Guidelines  for  Prevention  of  Misleading  Advertisement  in  Coaching  Sector 2024,  aim  to  safeguard  students  and  the  public  from  deceptive  marketing  practices  commonly employed by coaching centers.

The CCPA guidelines also provides that any person who is engaged in coaching shall not use name, photographs, testimonials or videos of successful candidate in an advertisement without candidate's  written  consent.  The  guidelines  are  available  on  the  Department  of  Consumer Affairs website https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/fileuploads/latestnews/Guidelines%20for%20Prevention%20of%20Misleading%20Advertisement %20in%20Coaching%20Sector%2C%202024.pdf