Regulating coaching centres responsibility of states: MHRD

Naina Mishra

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 4

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has stated that regulating coaching centres is a responsibility of the state governments.

The MHRD’s orders hold importance as time and again, the UT Administration has gone soft on private institutes as far as regulation is concerned. This year, the District Magistrate did not issue any direction to regulate timings for coaching centre despite approval of the same during the 10th advisory council meeting held in May this year. It was decided during the meeting that the DM will issue directions to coaching centres for not operating during school hours — between 8 am and 3 pm.

Despite a committee constituted in 2017 by the UT Administration to regulate coaching centres, no concrete policy was formed.

The HRD ministry letter to all states reveals that directions to take necessary action for regulating private coaching institutions in their respective geographical areas were issued by the HRD ministry in August in wake of the Surat coaching centre fire tragedy that claimed lives of several students.

The UT Administration has now taken cognisance of the directions and convened the first meeting in this regard under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Chandigarh, on Friday.

“As many of these coaching centres operate at the school level and hence, come under the direct purview of the state governments, it is, therefore, necessary that these coaching centres are regulated through an appropriate legal framework, which should be put in place by the respective state governments under,” stated SS Sandhu, Additional Secretary to the Government of India, in the letter issued by the ministry.

The ministry observed that in the absence of any policy or regulation, the number of unregulated private coaching institutions continues to grow and mint money from students.

Citing reference to the fire tragedy, the ministry stated that loss of precious lives due to fire and other accidents, instances of such centres charging exorbitant fee from students, undue academic pressure on students and parents resulting in students committing suicides and several other malpractices being adopted by these centres are widely reported in the media

Issue highlighted in Parliament: Ministry

The letter further reads:“The issue has also been highlighted several times through debates, discussions and questions in the Parliament. In view of the above, it is once again requested to take immediate action in this regard in the larger interest of students and their overall development.”