Coaching Centre Guidelines Explained: Why Centre Wants Coaching Centres To Be Regulated, What Has Govt Proposed?

The Centre has directed the states and Union Territories (UTs) to consider implementing guidelines to regulate coaching centres that prepare students for a host of entrance examinations for higher education and recruitment in government jobs. 

In a letter to all states and UTs, the Union Ministry of Education has circulated a set of guidelines intended to safeguard the well-being and interests of students and making coaching centres much more transparent and accountable. 

The development comes at a time when coaching centres across India have been in scrutiny for suspected unfair practices, unsafe infrastructures, and high pressure that students face. For the past one year, suicides among adolescent students, particularly in the coaching centre hub of Kota in Rajasthan, have led to calls of a relook at the entrance examination system, the coaching centre industry, and the pressure that students are made to go through by parents and teachers. 

In the guidelines, the Centre states that no one under the age of 16 should be admitted into any coaching centre. The guidelines also ban 'assured' rank or success and also bans misleading advertisements. For greater transparency, the guidelines state that coaching centres should have a proper website and prospectus where the details of the course, qualifications of teachers, fees, size of the batch, etc. should be listed for all to see. The non-compliance will be liable to penalties.

Here we explain why the Centre is calling for regulations of coaching centres, what the Centre has proposed, and what prompted the Centre to act. 

Why Does Centre Want To Regulate Coaching Centres?

Every year, several lakh of students appear for a number of entrance examinations, such as for engineering, medical, and management courses. Then, there are also lakhs of candidates appearing for a host of government jobs, ranging from the IAS and IPS to state-level class two jobs and various departmental vacancies. Then, lakhs of students aspiring to join professional courses and get government jobs join coaching centres every year.

This means that coaching centres across the country take several lakh students every year and churn out lakhs of pass-outs every year with promises of jobs. Several cities like Rajasthan's Kota, Bihar's Patna, Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad, and Delhi have come to have dedicated areas known for such centres, such as Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar and Lakshmi Nagar. 

In its circular dated January 16, the Union Ministry of Education notes that "unregulated private coaching centers in the country continues to grow in the absence of any laid down policy or regulation". 

"Instances of such centers charging exorbitant fees from students, undue stress on students resulting in students committing suicides, loss of precious lives due to fire and other accidents, and many other malpractices being adopted by these centres are widely reported in the media," said the letter sent to all states and UTs.

To address these concerns, and as the education is part of the concurrent list, the Centre has floated the guidelines that the states and UTs may consider implementing, said the letter. 

What Has Centre Proposed?

In its letter to states and UTs, the Centre made a slew of recommendations. It recommended the standards for coaching centres, the mechanism for the registration and grievance redressal, and seeks to institute transparency and accountability. 

The Centre also recognises that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 also acknowledges that the current nature of secondary school exams, including Board exams and entrance exams, results in the "coaching culture of today and its harmful impact". It also notes that the NEP calls for the elimination of the need for taking coaching classes. 

First of all, the Centre describes what would qualify as a 'coaching centre'. It says that 'coaching' means tuition, instructions, or guidance in any branch of learning imparted to more than 50 students but does not include counselling, sports, dance, theatre and other creative activities. A 'coaching centre' will be a place where such activities will take place. These will be governed by a 'competent authority' that will be designated by the states and UTs.

The coaching centres will only function after due registration with the competent authority, as per the guidelines. Such registrations would be renewed time-to-time. Upon repeated violation of guidelines, the registration may also be suspended. 

No student under the age of 16 will be admitted to the coaching centres, as per the guidelines. 

Other guidelines issued by the Centre are:

• Teachers will at least be graduates.

• No teacher can be recruited who has been convicted for any offence, involving moral turpitude. 

• No misleading advertisement may be done and no unfair promises like assured rank or clearance of exam may be made.

• Coaching centres shall have websites and prospectuses with clear details of teachers, courses, and fees. Once a batch stars, the fees (including hostel if it's there) may not be increased. 

• If a student wishes to leave the course, hostel, or both in the middle of the batch, then the fees, if already deposited, for the remainder of the course will be refunded.

• To ensure safety, one square metre area should be there for every student. The site should adhere to building safety codes and fire safety norms. There should also be a first-aid kit at the site and the numbers of medical facilities, police, and women helplines should also be there and students should be made aware of those. 

• Classes to not run for more than five hours a day not too early or late in the day. Weekly offs should be there for students and teachers.

• Coaching centres should not make the results of internal assessment public. They should also not segregate batches based upon internal assessments' marks.

• Coaching centres should also rope in counsellors and psychologists to address the well-being of students.

As for the penalties, the first-time offender would be fined Rs 25,000 and the fine would increase to Rs 1 lakh for the second time, and registration would be revoked for subsequent offences, according to the prescribed guidelines.

Need To Address Students' Stress Levels

Dozens of suicides have been reported among students studying in coaching centres in recent years. Incidents of fires and stampedes in closely-packed centres in densely-populated areas with little adherence to safety norms have also been reported. It has also been long documented that students preparing for entrance exams or for government jobs deal with severe stress and often develop mental health issues like depression and anxiety. 

Last year, the suicides were the highest in Kota in the past eight years, according to Hindustan Times. 

The HT reported that a team constituted by Kota Kota Chief Health and Medical Officer(CMHO) Jagdish Soni examined over 6,000 students and found that 83 were dealing with severe depression and two were on the verge of dying by suicide. 

"After visiting around 6602 students in 223 hostels during this period, we found 83 students suffering from severe depression," said Dr Poorti Sharma, a member of the team. For the two suicidal students, she said, "They had started to hurt themselves which is a common symptom in these cases."

Sharma said that they were sent for psychiatric counselling and medication.

"We have also contacted all of their parents, hostel wardens, and the counsellors and the authorities of the coaching centres, shared their reports confidentially and asked for regular monitoring," said Sharma.