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New Delhi: Go to Mukherjee Nagar or Karol Bagh in Delhi and you will see a sea of gaudy posters, banners and hoardings carrying the names of successful IAS candidates and pictures of their ranks in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam.
These posters put up by IAS coaching institutes boast of their successful track record, thereby attracting new students to enroll with them. It often happens that more than one coaching institute claims successful candidates, and their photographs appear in the advertisements of different training centres.
This practice is set to change, as the process of finalising guidelines to prevent misleading advertisements for IAS coaching centres is nearing completion, two people directly connected with the matter told Mint on condition of anonymity.
order soon
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will soon order these institutes to stop the practice of making candidates sign agreements at the time of enrolment, allowing them to use their credentials – such as photos, ranks, video clips or messages – to claim success in the prestigious UPSC exam, according to people cited earlier.
Under the new guidelines, candidates will be allowed to sign such contracts or agreements only after successfully passing the exam, and that too only if they wish to do so, the first person said.
“These contracts will be valid for six months or a year and will provide options regarding the use of the candidate’s credentials, including photo, name, rank, video messages or addressing interested candidates in classes,” this person said.
Draft Guidelines
The CCPA, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, had issued draft guidelines for “prevention of misleading advertisements in the coaching sector” in February.
The proposed guidelines for online and offline centres are likely to impact the IAS coaching business, which is The total annual turnover of the coaching industry is Rs 3,000 crore. Delhi is considered as the hub of coaching for UPSC civil services exams at a cost of Rs 58,088 crore.
“Whatever rules the government brings, we will follow them,” Vaishnavi Shankar, managing director of coaching institute Shankar IAS, said over the phone.
Mint was the first to report on November 28, 2023 that IAS coaching institutes will not be allowed to use photographs of successful candidates to attract prospective aspirants.
The government guidelines will help prospective candidates understand that advertisements featuring successful candidates are based on paid agreements. This will allow them to make more informed decisions about the authenticity of coaching institutes’ claims, knowing that those being promoted have likely been compensated for the use of their credentials.
Making Better Decisions
This transparency will improve decision-making and reduce the likelihood of candidates being misled by promotion tactics.
“The changes that the government is planning to bring in are positive. When UPSC aspirants join a coaching institute, they are usually recent graduates, usually in their 20s. At this stage, they often have little idea about the hidden terms and conditions set by these coaching institutes,” said Dr RP Beniwal, professor of psychiatry at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.
“However, by the time they clear the exam and the same institute approaches them to use their certificates for advertising purposes, their understanding has evolved considerably. By then, they are more aware and able to decide whether they want their certificates to be used or not, and to what extent,” the doctor said.
Fee or free
According to the final guidelines, which are being worked on, successful candidates will have the option to enter into such agreements with coaching institutes, either for a fee or free of cost.
“Candidates will have the option to enter into such agreements either for a fee or free of cost, depending on their choice. The guidelines are expected to be approved in the next one or two weeks,” the second person said.
Payal Kumari (name changed on request), enrolled at a prominent coaching institute in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, said, “We don’t have much choice when joining coaching institutes. The institutes also tell us that if we don’t sign the papers, our admission won’t be accepted. So, we sign them to get admission. The change in criteria will definitely help UPSC aspirants as it will give them more control over their credentials and prevent exploitation.”
Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (CPA 2019) defines misleading advertisement as an advertisement that misdescribes a product or service or gives a false guarantee with the intent to mislead consumers by concealing material information.
Queries sent to the Consumer Affairs Ministry remained unanswered till the time of filing the report.
Consent mandatory
Manish K. Shubhay, partner at New Delhi-based law firm The Precept-Law Offices, said, “This is a significant step to protect consumers, in this case UPSC aspirants. It ensures that IAS coaching institutes will no longer be able to use their credentials without explicit consent, which was not the case earlier.”
“When students previously signed consent forms, they were often legally bound, leaving them with no option to stop institutions from using their details. This move could help protect candidates’ rights and give them more control over the use of their personal achievements,” Shubhay said.
Recently CCPA issued notices to 45 coaching institutes for violating consumer rights through misleading advertisements and unethical practices. Out of these, 15 institutes were fined, the total fine is ₹ 1,00,000. Rs 38.60 lakh
The UPSC Civil Services Exam, which is conducted every year in three stages, recruits officers for All India Services like IAS and Central Civil Services like Indian Police Service and Indian Revenue Service. The first stage is the Preliminary Examination (PT), which is a screening test and the marks obtained in PT are not counted in the next two stages – Main Exam and Personality Test. The marks obtained in both Main Exam and Personality Test are counted for final selection.
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