NEW DELHI: Busting exaggerated claims of coaching centres about the number of their students cracking competitive exams, the govt on Wednesday issued new guidelines to curb misleading advertisements by such institutes and prohibited them from luring new batches by making unrealistic promises of “100% selection”.
Citing the analysis carried by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), Union consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare shared that just 11 coaching institutes claimed selection of 3,636 students in the 2022 UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) while the UPSC recommended only 993 candidates. Similarly, in the 2023 CSE, while the UPSC recommended names of only 1,016 candidates, nine coaching institutes claimed selection of their 3,636 students.
The CCPA also found that multiple coaching institutes were using photos of the same successful candidate in their advertisements. The investigations revealed how the institutes were fudging disclosures of courses these students joined and their duration.
“We have seen coaching institutes deliberately concealing information from prospective students. So, we have come out with the guidelines to provide guidance to people involved in the coaching industry and also the consumers. We are not against these institutes issuing advertisements. But we want them to be truthful and transparent,” Khare, who is also chief commissioner of CCPA, told reporters.
The CCPA has so far issued 45 notices and imposed penalties of about Rs 54.6 lakh on 18 institutes till date for misleading advertisements. “Failure to comply with the guideline can attract a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh for the first offence and upto Rs 50 lakh for subsequent offences. The CCPA can order withdrawal of such advertisements and can stop them from further publication for 1-3 years,” Khare said.
As per the guidelines, any coaching institute having more than 50 students will have to follow these rules. The institutes must disclose important information such as rank secured, name and duration of course, including whether it’s paid. They must adequately represent the service, facilities, resources and infrastructure of coaching centres. They must take consent of selected minor candidates after selection for use of their photograph and testimonial.
The secretary said candidates joining govt service need to be careful of not violating service rules in case they consent to use of their photograph or testimonial to a coaching institute in lieu of a monetary gain. The consumer affairs department has written to DoPT on this aspect as well.