New rules to check misleading ads by coaching centres
The Indian government has issued new guidelines to curb misleading advertisements by coaching centers. These guidelines prohibit false promises like guaranteed job placements or 100% selection rates. Coaching centers are also barred from misrepre...
By ET Bureau | Updated:
The Centre on Wednesday released new guidelines to regulate misleading advertisements by coaching institutes, prohibiting false claims like 100% selection or 100% job security. The final guidelines, drafted by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), come in the wake of several complaints on the National Consumer Helpline.
"We have seen coaching centres deliberately concealing information from prospective students. Therefore, we have come out with the guidelines to provide guidance to people involved in the coaching industry," consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare said. Under the new guidelines, coaching centres are prohibited from making false claims regarding courses offered and duration, faculty credentials, fee structure and refund policies, selection rates and exam rankings, and guaranteed job security or salary increases.
The guidelines define 'coaching' as academic support, education, guidance, study programmes and tuition. However, it excludes counselling, sports and creative activities.
Coaching centres cannot use names, photographs or testimonials of successful candidates without written consent obtained after selection. The guidelines, titled 'Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector' cover all forms of advertising across academic support, education, guidance and tuition services.
Violations will attract penalties under the Consumer Protection Act, Khare added. The CCPA has issued 54 notices and imposed penalties of about ₹54.60 lakh till date for such violations.
