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The new advertising guidelines, which have strict provisions against false claims, may lead to the closure of many coaching schools. Coaching centers can no longer claim to have a hand in a student’s success story – they have to tick the boxes first. mint Explains.
What do the new guidelines say?
Guidelines for prevention of misleading advertising in the coaching sector, issued on November 13, 2024, against false claims regarding duration of a course, number of students, time taken to complete a program and advertising a student without prior consent Hold the coaching centers responsible for this. Coaching institutes will also have to provide refunds if they fail to provide the services claimed in their advertisements. Additionally, institutions must specify whether their courses are approved by authorities such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Also read: IAS coaching center closed for false advertisement, license canceled
What will be the benefit to the students?
Lakhs of students turn to coaching centers like Kota from a young age in the hope of getting a seat in India’s top engineering, medical colleges or cracking civil services examinations. Advertisements often promise good results, leading many families to believe that sending children to those centers will be sufficient. The proposed infrastructure, qualifications of teachers, student-to-teacher ratio, and how many are actually qualified each year are not known. Sometimes, a student is studying in two coaching centres, resulting in both claiming credit if the student is successful. These rules can bring more clarity.
Will coaching centers be affected?
Yes, because advertising is the only way to attract students, especially from tier 2 and 3 cities. According to the founder of a coaching center in Kota, one of the main challenges faced by centers from now on is consent for advertisements. “It is very difficult to get the consent of a student after the rank is declared as they are not on the campus,” he said.
Also read: IAS coaching institutes under CCPA probe for luring candidates through false celebrity teacher ads
How will promotion happen now?
According to an institute head, coaching centers should be given time to adopt new methods of advertising. “We will keep the font bold. Cigarette manufacturers display side effects in big pictures. Does it stop smoking?” he asked. He believes that there is no possibility of any disclaimer from his side or slowing down the development. Major centers have the opportunity to rework the hoardings and use social media or traditional media for advertising. There will be money to pay attention to, yet the guidelines will affect smaller centres.
Also read: Exam coaching crisis: It’s a monster of our own creation
What happened because of regulation?
The coaching industry has come under scrutiny to meet the demand and aspirations of Indian families to make their children engineers, doctors and bureaucrats. Over time, coaching firms started running schools where students starting from classes 6 and 7 are trained for national entrance examinations. The financial strain on families and the death of students, in some cases by suicide, at these centers has exposed the weak state of the industry over the years.
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