HYDERABAD: The Union education ministry’s move to prohibit the admission of any student, aged less than 16 years, at coaching centres has triggered various responses from the stakeholders of the Rs 58,000-crore coaching industry.
Commenting on the age restriction, Rukmini Das, a parent, said, "I wonder how this will impact students who are ready for advanced studies before turning 16. It's crucial to strike a balance between age requirements and recognising individual readiness for higher education."
Her 14-year-old son has been going to coaching classes for almost two years and recently began a course on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The guidelines also mandate that teachers possess graduate degrees. "Educators play a pivotal role in shaping the future generations and needing something as basic as a degree shouldn't be a problem. A lot of students who are preparing for competitive exams are being enrolled at such centres. But quality education requires adequate experience even inside a classroom," a junior lecturer working in a corporate college in the city told Deccan Chronicle.
She added that one of her colleagues, a topper from one of the districts in the state, is yet to take his final exams via correspondence.
The ministry’s other guidelines include the coaching centres meeting fire safety standards, having trained counsellors to look after the mental health of students, issues such as fee structure, and registration of coaching centres with multiple branches.
Addressing concerns related to misleading promises and deceptive advertisements, the ministry banned coaching institutes from publishing details about quality, facilities, results, or student testimonials. This directive has sparked a range of reactions, with parents like Rukmini Das questioning its impact on informed decision-making.
Karthik Naidu, a student, said, "It's important to know what we're signing up for. We have to combat misinformation but it's also crucial for us to have access to genuine insights about the institutes."
A representative of a coaching centre said that they are now forced to grapple with the abrupt shift in promotional strategies and reassess their marketing approaches. "We understand the goal of transparency, but the sudden ban on publishing details has left us scrambling to find alternative ways to communicate our commitment to quality education."
Close to 200 coaching centres across the country, along with the Coaching Federation of India (CFI), which represent the voice of about 25,000 institutes, are planning to seek a legal remedy against the ministry’s decision.
