New Delhi:
The government has ordered the coaching centers not to make misleading claims, assure guaranteed success and hide important information from consumers amid floods of complaints from students and parents on immoral practices.
It has issued notices to several coaching centers to violate laws and guidelines by guaranteeing placement and selection in top institutions, assuring rank in JEE/NEET, assuring consumer rights, violating consumer rights, giving misleading advertising, and using unfair business practices, such as not giving promised services, canceling entry without cancellation of fees, etc.
Coaching centers are profit -making businesses, which make them mandatory to follow the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) said in a statement that after the recent announcement of results for examinations like IIT-JEE and NEET, it has been observed that coaching centers are not following the guidelines mentioned in the prevention of misleading advertisements in ‘Coaching Area, 2024.’ ,
The CCPA underlined that coaching centers are required to ensure that their representations are free from accurate, clear, and misleading claims or are free from hiding of significant information from consumers.
“Additionally, coaching centers should avoid assuring guaranteed success. Coaching centers should clearly disclose important details in their advertisements, in which the student’s name, rank, course type, and what course was paid.
The guidelines for the prevention of misleading advertisements in the coaching area, 2024 were issued on 13 November 2024.
These guidelines banned coaching centers from incorrect or misleading claims and advertising to promote their services, and to engage in misleading or unfair practices. Guidelines also represent an important step towards preventing students’ exploitation and ensuring that they are not misled by false promises or forced into unfair contracts.
“The guidelines have been designed to increase transparency and fairness in the region, help students and their families to make informed decisions based on accurate and true information. These guidelines complement the existing rules and strengthen the regulatory structure controlling advertisements in the coaching sector,” CCPA said.
The Authority had previously taken action against coaching centers offering services for competitive examinations including UPSC CSE, IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI, NABARD, among others, confirming their commitment to ensure that no wrong or misleading advertisements have been made in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.