What's Brewing

The Right to education is a fundamental right as envisaged in the Constitution of India. The average Indian places maximum emphasis on their child’s education. From a young age, children are groomed to be competitive and expected to perform their best. There is extreme pressure on children to succeed in competitive exams to get into reputed engineering, management, legal, design and other premium courses / institutions. The off shoot:  coaching classes have mushroomed all over the country. Making tall claims and promises of ‘success’ rates, assured placements and a bright future, these institutes adopt rigorous teaching methods and further put pressure on children to excel in some of the toughest entrance exams in the country. The result: rising cases of suicides, mental health issues due to extreme pressure to perform well in competitive exams.      

Taking cognisance of increasing cases of student suicides, the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India issued a set of guidelines to coaching centres  effective from January 2024. A look at the important points:

KEY GUIDELINES

1. The guidelines require for coaching / coaching centres to have a minimum of 50 students.
2. Any coaching centre can be established, run or managed only with prior registration with the appropriate authority in the local jurisdiction where the coaching centre is situated. Existing coaching centres shall register within 3 months from the date of implementation of the guidelines. The period of validity of such registration shall be decided by the appropriate authority. Renewal of registration must be undertaken at least 2 months prior to the date of expiry of registration.
3. Coaching centres –
   (i) shall engage tutors having qualification of graduation and above.
   (ii) shall not make misleading promises or guarantee of rank or good marks to parents/students for enrolling them in the coaching centre.
   (iiI) shall not enroll student below 16 years of age or the student enrolment should be only after secondary school examination.
   (iv) shall not publish any misleading advertisement claiming quality of coaching or the facilities offered therein, or the result procured by such coaching centre or the student who attended such class.
   (v) shall not be registered, if it has less than minimum space requirement per student.
   (vi) shall not hire services of any tutor or person who has been convicted for any offence involving moral turpitude.
   (vii) shall not be registered unless it has counselling system as per the requirement of this guidelines.
   (viii) must have a website with details of the qualification of tutors, timetable of courses/curriculum, duration of completion, hostel facilities (if any), and the fees being charged, easy exit policy, refund etc. The same must be displayed at a prominent place in the premises of the coaching centre.
   (ix) can use only the word ‘registered coaching centre’ and shall not use the words ‘recognized’ or ‘approved’ on any sign board or any prospectus or correspondence or communication of whatever nature or at any place.
   (x) cannot employ any tutor or person who has been convicted of for any offence involving moral turpitude
   (xi) fees charged must be reasonable and not exorbitant. Also, the course material must be provided without charging additional fee.
   (xii) 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.
   (xiii) Under no circumstance, the fee structure at the time of enrolment for a particular course and duration shall be increased during the currency of the course.
   (xiv) A minimum of square meter area may be allocated for each student during a class / batch.
   (xv) The coaching centre shall adhere to building safety and fire safety protocols, a first aid / medical kit, women helpline and police helpline numbers and details. It shall be well lit and ventilated with separate toilets for males and females. There shall be functional CCTV cameras.
   (xvi) A complaint box or register shall be in place to raise complaints. An  effective grievance redressal mechanism must be in place.
   (xvii) The coaching centre shall ensure weekly offs from classes for all students wherein no assessments / re-assessments will be conducted. Leave or off must be granted to students especially during festivals to enable students connect / bond with their families. This will help maintain their emotional balance.
   (xviii) Coaching classes shall be conducted for a maximum of 5 hours a day and not too early in the morning or too late in the evening.
   (xix) Coaching centres shall organize classes for co-curricular activities for holistic development and enhancing cognitive abilities of students. The coaching centres, while teaching core subjects should also organize counselling sessions for tutor, employee and all students on development of Life Skills, scientific temper & evidence-based thinking; creativity & innovativeness; fitness, wellness, emotional bonding & mental wellbeing, age-appropriate challenges, motivation; collaboration and teamwork; problem solving and logical reasoning; ethical and moral reasoning; knowledge and practice of human and Constitutional values; personal safety (gender sensitization & abuse prevention); Fundamental Duties; citizenship skills and values; knowledge of India; environmental awareness, sanitation and hygiene etc.
   (xx) Code of Conduct by the Coaching Centre:

a. The number of students to be enrolled in each class/ batch may be clearly defined in the prospectus and published on website. In no case such enrolment shall be increased in class/batch during the currency of the course. The number of students admitted must be in line with the teacher – student ratio.
b. Apart from options for admission in engineering and medicine, information about other career options  and related institutes may be provided to the students to enable them  to choose alternative careers.
c. The students and parents shall be made aware that admission in the coaching centre does not in any way guarantee admission in institutions like medical, engineering, management, law etc. or in the competitive examination. 
d. Coaching centre should conduct periodic workshops and sensitization sessions regarding students’ mental health in collaboration with mental health professionals. Support of career and clinical counsellor / psychologists must be offered to students. Tutors may undergo training on mental health issues and handle students with sensitivity.
e. Coaching centres shall strive to be a place of inclusivity and accessibility. It shall not discriminate based on religion, race, caste, birthplace, sex, descent etc. Special provisions must be made to accommodate students from the weaker and marginalizes section and with disabilities or special abilities. Infrastructure of the coaching centre must be friendly to disabled / especially abled students in compliance with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
f. The coaching centres shall maintain registers, accounts and other documents and submit to the competent authority as and when required. 
g. Coaching centre shall conduct coaching only at the place indicated in the registration certificate. Any shift in premises is possible only with the prior written approval of the competent authority in that behalf. 
h. The competent authority shall have the power of the civil courts. They will dispose off the complaints after giving an opportunity to the parties concerned. They may impose fines and penalties including cancellation of registration of the coaching centre for any contravention of provisions of guidelines or provisions of registration of the coaching centre.  

The rat race to be the best is imbibed into children at a very early age. Hence, the coaching industry has boomed in our country. However, not all children are able to cope with the pressure or the fear of failure. They resort to extreme step of suicide or suffer mental health issues. The government stepping in with guidelines pending the introduction of a law is much needed step to check rampant growth of the coaching industry business which hitherto had no accountability. Now that will change with these guidelines

For full text of the guidelines:
https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Guideliens_Coaching_Centres_en.pdf