Central Government Releases Guidelines For Regulation Of Coaching Centers (Photo by Mwesigwa Joel on Unsplash)
To establish a framework for the registration and regulation of coaching centers, the central government released specific instructions on Wednesday, January 18. The instructions, titled “Guidelines for Registration and Regulation of Coaching Center 2024,” were released by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education.
The new set of guidelines arrives in the context of rising student suicide cases, fire incidents, and a lack of facilities. According to the central government, the objectives of the new set of guidelines are also to suggest minimum standard requirements to run a coaching center, to safeguard the interests of enrolled students, to encourage coaching centers to focus on co-curricular activities and the holistic development of students, and to provide career guidance and psychological counseling for students” mental well-being.
The Ministry of Education noted that the number of unregulated private coaching centers continues to rise in India in the absence of policy or regulation. Centre also mentioned the media reports highlighting issues such as exorbitant fees, student stress, and various malpractices adopted by coaching centers.
Notably, the central government defines coaching centers as “a center, established, run, or administered by any person to provide coaching for any study programme or competitive examinations or academic support to students at school, college, and university level, for more than 50 students.”
As part of the new guidelines, applications for the registration of coaching centers shall be made to the competent authority within the local jurisdiction. Notably, no coaching centers shall engage tutors with qualifications less than graduation, and students below the age of 16 are not permitted to enroll. Also, there should be no misleading promise or guarantee of rank or good marks to students or parents. Coaching centers are also required to maintain a website with updated details, including the qualifications of tutors, the courses and curriculum, and the fees being charged.
Also, the tuition fees for different courses must be fair and reasonable. The guidelines also say that receipts for the fee charged must be made available. Coaching centers should take proper measures for the mental wellbeing of the students and should conduct classes without putting extreme pressure on the students. There should be no assessment test on the day after weekly off. Also, weekly offs are mandatory for both students and tutors. The guidelines also noted that if the coaching center violates any terms or conditions of registration or general requirements, penalties will be imposed.
