In recent years, the coaching industry has witnessed exponential growth, driven by the increasing demand for supplementary education to complement traditional schooling. This increasing demand for supplementary education is met by coaching institutes. However, the rapid expansion of coaching institutes has also raised concerns about the quality of coaching institutes and need for regulatory oversight to safeguard students’ interest. In response to this concern, Ministry of Education, Government of India has introduced the “Guidelines for Registration and Regulation of Coaching Centre 2024”. Aimed at standardizing the operations of coaching institutes and enhancing the quality of education they provide. The primary objective of these Guidelines is to provide a roadmap for the regulation of coaching centres for better guidance and assistance to the students in any study programme, competitive examinations, or for academic support.
These guidelines in its holiness provide the framework for registration and regulation of coaching centres, suggest minimum standard required to run a coaching centre, safeguards the interest of students enrolled in a coaching centre, advises coaching centre to focus on co-curricular activities as well as for holistic development of students. Most importantly, these guidelines mandated coaching centres to focus on psychological counselling for mental well-being of students. Further, these guidelines address the growing concerns related to unregulated private coaching centres, including issues such as exorbitant fees, student stress leading to suicides and various malpractices.
According to these guidelines, a ‘coaching’ means tuition that provides 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 and ‘coaching centre’ includes a centre, 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.
KEY PROVISIONS OF THE NEW GUIDLINES :
Ø Registration Requirement -
These guidelines has made mandatory for a coaching centre to establish, run, manage or maintain coaching centres, only after taking registration. An application for registration shall be made to the competent authority within whose local jurisdiction such coaching centre is situated, in such form, with such fees and documents as may be specified by the appropriate government. In case of coaching centre having multiple branches, each of such branches shall be treated as separate coaching centre and it shall be necessary to submit a separate application for registration of each branch.
Ø Condition for registration-
The guideline has imposed the condition for registration. In this regard it provides:
· No coaching centre shall engage tutors having qualification less than graduation.
· No coaching centre shall enrol student below 16 years of age or the student enrolment should be only after secondary school examination.
· The coaching centres are also required to have a website with updated details.
Ø Fees-
The guidelines provides that the tuition fees for different courses/curriculum being charged shall be fair and reasonable and receipts for the fee charged must 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, student will be refunded from out of the fees deposited earlier for the remaining period, on pro-rata basis within 10 days. If the student is 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 on the basis of which enrolment has been made for a particular course and duration shall be increased during the continuation of the course.
Ø Infrastructure requirement-
Coaching centres must allocate a minimum of one square meter per student in each class. Adherence to fire safety and building codes, along with obtaining fire and building safety certificates, is compulsory. Proper electrification, ventilation, lighting arrangement, and security measures are also made essential for coaching centres. The coaching centres should also be equipped with CCTV cameras, a first aid kit and medical assistance.
Ø Class-
The coaching centre shall make efforts to complete the classes in the stipulated time. Coaching classes for those students who are also studying in any institution/schools shall not be conducted during their institution/schools hours. Remedial classes may also be provided. Coaching centre shall not conduct the classes for more than 5 hours in a day.
Ø Complaint Mechanism-
Student, parents, or teacher/employees employed in the coaching centre can file complaints against coaching centres for some genuine grievance. Coaching centres can also file complaints against student/parents in case of some genuine grievance. Guidelines provide that these complaints will be resolved within thirty days by the competent authority or an inquiry committee established for this purpose by the appropriate government.
Ø Records-
The coaching centre has to submit the annual report to the competent authority disclosing all the details as prescribed in the guidelines.
Ø Penalties-
In case of violation of any of the terms and conditions of registration or general conditions, the coaching centre shall be liable for penalties as follows:
i. Rs 25,000/- for first offence
ii. Rs. 1,00,000/- for the second offence
iii.Revocation of registration for subsequent offence.
POSITIVE IMPLICATION FOR COACHING INSTITUTES:
The implementation of the new guidelines is expected to raise the overall quality standards of coaching institutes.
Institutes that demonstrate compliance with the guidelines and maintain high quality standards are likely to gain a competitive edge in the market by attracting students and parents who prioritize quality education and academic excellence.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the new guidelines for coaching institutes present both challenges and opportunities for the stakeholders in the education sector. By and large it is perceived that the new guidelines shall enhance quality education, regulate coaching institutes for the betterment of the students and can contribute to the holistic development of students.
Comments