New rules for coaching centres: Can't promise 100% selection, job guarantee in ads

The Government, it seems, is coming down hard on the booming coaching industry, which often misleads students with exalted promises. The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has introduced stringent new guidelines for coaching institutes, which come in the wake of mounting concerns over misleading advertisements and the mental toll on students. The move is aimed at prohibiting coaching centres from making false claims about their courses, including guarantees of 100 per cent selection, job placements, or assured success in exams.

According to Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, the new rules aim to protect students from deceptive advertising and ensure transparency in the coaching sector. Under the guidelines, institutes are forbidden from making exaggerated claims about the quality of their faculty, infrastructure, fees, or refund policies.

Additionally, coaching centres cannot use photographs of top-scoring students in their advertisements without obtaining their explicit consent.

“Coaching institutes must now accurately represent the resources and facilities they offer,” Khare said.

“False or misleading representations will no longer be tolerated. The new rules are designed to ensure that students make informed decisions about where they invest their time and money,” Khare further said.

The guidelines also stipulate that coaching centres must disclose whether a course is sponsored or paid for by the student, bringing much-needed transparency to the business. Institutes will now be required to partner with the National Consumer Helpline, allowing students to easily report unfair trade practices or deceptive advertising.

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The move comes after the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) recently imposed a Rs 3 lakh penalty on Sriram’s IAS, a popular coaching institute, for making exaggerated claims in its advertisements. The institute had promoted itself as “India’s No.1 Prestigious UPSC/IAS Coaching Institute” and boasted of “200-plus selections” in the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2022. The CCPA’s investigation found these claims to be misleading, triggering the fine.

Additionally, coaching institutes are now prohibited from making any guarantees related to success in competitive exams, including assurances of passing the “prelims” (preliminary exams) or securing certain ranks or scores. The guidelines are aimed at preventing the type of false promises that have caused significant distress among aspirants, some of whom have faced extreme mental health challenges due to the pressure to succeed.

The government’s decision to impose these regulations follows growing concerns about the emotional and psychological toll the test-prep industry is having on students. The hyper-competitive environment, particularly in cities like Kota—India’s coaching hub—has led to tragic outcomes. In July, three students tragically drowned in an illegal basement classroom after heavy rain caused flooding, highlighting the dangerous conditions many students face in poorly regulated coaching institutes.

As per a report in Hindustan Times, in the last year, at least 17 student suicides have been reported in Kota alone, underscoring the stress many students experience while preparing for exams away from home and under immense pressure to succeed.

“The mental health and well-being of students must be prioritised. Exaggerated promises of success create unrealistic expectations and increase stress, sometimes leading to tragic consequences,” Khare noted.

The new regulations also target the unethical practice of serving government officers endorsing coaching institutes. Khare issued a warning to civil servants about engaging in commercial deals with coaching centres, emphasising that such endorsements could lead to disciplinary action under government service rules.

As per reports, the government hopes that by enforcing these guidelines, it will reduce the exploitation of vulnerable students and restore some level of trust in the education system. The focus now, Khare said, is on ensuring that students receive accurate information to make informed choices, with their safety and well-being at the forefront.

With inputs from agencies.