Education Ministry Chalks Out Guidelines Aimed At Regulating Coaching Institutes

The centre has also proposed registration of all new and existing coaching institutes in the country within three months of the guidelines coming into effect.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has framed new guidelines to regulate the operations of coaching institutes in the country. As per the new guidelines, coaching institutes cannot enrol students below 16 years of age, make misleading promises, and guarantee good rank and marks, news agency PTI reported. The new set of guidelines come as a bid to keep a check on the unregulated growth of private coaching institutions and to address the need of a legal apparatus to look into the overall functioning of coaching centres in the country. 

The guidelines also come is the aftermath of complaints received by the government against coaching institutions over rising cases of student suicides, fire incidents,  inadequate facilities as well as the teaching methodologies being practiced. 

Giving further heads up to the guidelines, the central government has also suggested that if a coaching centre charges exorbitant fees from students causing undue stress that may also lead to student suicide by students, the registration of such coaching institutes shall be cancelled or the institute may be charged with a fine of up to rupees one lakh. The centre has also sought registration of new and existing coaching centres in the country within three months of the guidelines coming into effect. 

Some of the key provisions laid out by the guidelines are as follows:

• No coaching centre shall engage tutors having qualifications less than graduation. Coaching centres should be barred from hiring or obtaining services from a person convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude. 


• Institutions cannot make misleading promises or guarantee rank or good marks to parents for enrolling students in the coaching centres. 


• Institutes cannot enrol students below 16 years of age. Student enrolment should be only after secondary school examination.


• The coaching institutes cannot publish or cause to be published or take part in the publication of any misleading advertisement relating to any claim, directly or indirectly, of quality of coaching or the facilities offered therein or the result procured by such coaching centre or the student who attended such class.


• Coaching centres should take steps to encourage and ensure the mental well-being of students, and conduct classes without pressuring them, considering the immense academic pressure and competition which students go through.


• Coaching centres will also not be registered unless they have a counselling system as prescribed by the guidelines. A coaching institute has come up with a counselling mechanism that is readily accessible to all students and parents, various steps may also be taken by relevant authorities. 


• Information about the names of psychologists, counsellors and the time they render services may be given to all students and parents. Trained counsellors could be appointed in the coaching centre to facilitate effective guidance and counselling for students and parents.


• Tutors in coaching institutes shall be trained in mental health issues to enhance their ability of conveying information to students about their areas of development in an effective way. 


• Coaching centres shall have a website with updated details of the qualification of tutors, courses/curriculum, duration of completion, hostel facilities, and the fees being charged.


• The fees charged by coaching centres for different programmes shall be reasonable, and the receipts for the fee collected should be made available. 


• If the student has paid for the course in full and is leaving the course in the middle of the prescribed period, a student will be refunded from out of the fees deposited earlier for the remaining period on a pro-rata basis within 10 days. If the student was staying in the hostel of the coaching centre then the hostel fees and mess fee etc. will also be refunded. Under no circumstances, the fee based on which enrolment has been made for a particular course and duration shall be increased during the currency of the course.


• It would be the responsibility of the state government to monitor the activities of coaching centres, and enquire about their adherence to the guidelines.

(With inputs from PTI)

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