Coaching centres are up in arms against regulatory guidelines released by the central government. Complaining that the regulations are unfair and have been finalised without taking them into consideration, various associations have opposed the guidelines.
The Union Education Ministry recently issued a set of new guidelines for coaching centres. Under these, it said study centres cannot enroll students below the age of 16 years, make misleading promises and guarantee rank or good marks, in addition to other rules.
While the Coaching Federation of India (CFI) contemplated a legal course, the Coaching Class Teachers’ Federation planned to hold agitations. The Maharashtra Coaching Class Owners’ Association (MCOA) has decided to meet the ministry of education to seek clarity.
According to coaching institutes, their need was a necessity due to the absence of quality in conventional education systems provided by the government. “The conventional education system is struggling with issues such as paucity of teachers, irregular recruitment, etc. Instead of repairing it, the government seems to be working towards shutting down the coaching industry which is not only supplementing the lacunae of the mainstream education industry but is also providing employment to quality teachers,” said Bandopant Bhuyar, state president for the Coaching Classes Teachers Federation, which has been demanding regulations for coaching classes for a while but were in for a shock with the latest guidelines declared by the Centre.
The Maharashtra government had prepared draft guidelines to regulate coaching classes. This draft was never approved though. “The draft prepared by the Maharashtra government still awaits approval,” Bhuyar said, adding that the federation plans to hold an agitation against the guidelines.
The CFI – an umbrella body that covers most of the reputed coaching institutes across India that focus on helping children prepare for entrance tests such as JEE, NEET etc – held a meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue. It planned to move court as well as garner support from the public. One of the advisory members of the federation Praveen Tyagi, managing director at PACE, a coaching institute for JEE and NEET, said, “There is tough competition to bag the limited number of seats in professional education. The entrance tests were brought to select meritorious candidates, but there is no system by the government to help children prepare for these tests. Coaching classes came into existence after the government’s education system failed. We are catering to the public’s needs. And the government is framing policy for children’s benefit without taking their opinion into consideration.”
The MCOA too held a meeting on Saturday with all its members in which it decided to meet with the central education minister to gain clarity on guidelines before they decide on their plan of action. “The guidelines forbid coaching classes for children younger than 16 years of age. There is an ambiguity around it. We want to know if this is for all including those catering to conventional board exam preparations or for those focusing on entrance tests. Additionally, we do not understand the logic behind the rule stating one child per square metre, two doors for each class, etc. Infrastructural parameters cannot be one size fits all as availability of space, its cost, etc., vary depending on locations,” said Prajesh Trotsky, president of the MCOA, adding that the association was not against having guidelines. “But not like these which may end the industry,” he said.