CONCEPT NOTE

Coaching institutes, stated as supplementary system for the educational sector, aimed to offer help to the academically weak students. If we look back to 15 or 20 years back we all would agree that sending child to a tutor or coaching institute was generally taken as the student being as a weak student. However, with emergence of a full-fledged industry of coaching institutes, not sending a child to a coaching institute is taken as if the parents of the students are economically poor. It is believed by a majority of students that coaching classes are necessary especially for a tough competitive exam. Often a justification is offered that perhaps earlier the competition was not so tough and the pattern of exam was also simple. Even the parents believe that earlier there were hardly any coaching institute and therefore, going to coaching institute was ruled out. Another argument which is often taken to justify the existence of coaching institutions is that they came up as an answer to fault ridden educational system and might be right in light of the experience that some of the teachers prefer guiding students in the coaching centers than in a formal classroom set up. Needless to say that as per the statistic published in Hindustan times dated 13th august 2012(page 2) in Bhopal itself there are around 50 major coaching classes and 350 other coaching classes and home based outlets catering to the needs of 50 to 1500 students per coaching centre earning a huge revenue. A question at this juncture may be asked Are coaching institute unavoidable? this question has gained considerable importance. A study conducted by the Pratichi trust, established by noted Nobel Economist Amartya Sen, 78 percent of the parents interviewed believed that indeed coaching was unavoidable and that if any student does not go for it is mainly because they cannot afford the cost. Coaching Institutes has indeed become a very big and profitable business in the last few decades. A 2008 market survey of companies offering coaching estimated the size of the sector at $ 6.4 million and predicted an annual growth of 15% in the subsequent years. Coaching institutes form part of the informal education system. The Indian Education system is broadly categorized into formal and informal education system. The formal system is the one provided by the state and governed by different schooling boards, University Grant Commission and All India Council of Technical Education. Coaching are considered to be part of informal

system mainly because of reasons of them not having a regular curriculum, a formal certificate and being organized outside formal schools. Coaching institutes have only developed in the last few decades. If we trace the history of private coaching over the past few years, we find that in the 1960s and 70s, private coaching or tuition catered to the intellectually challenged. An unstated stigma was attached to those who needed tutors. The more gifted students attended tutorials only prior to graduation examinations, more to build up confidence and get knowledge than to actually acquire it. Coaching classes were therefore, at that time, only there to fulfill a need. The seeds of corruption, which were shown to attract more students, changed the entire scenario. Some coaching turned to dubious means such as getting insider information about question papers. And with the examination oriented thrust of our education system being a constant affliction, soon examination oriented coaching became a coveted art. While regular schools prepared school for examination and the life beyond, coaching institutes took up examinations as their role goal. It was only a matter of time before the balance shifted in their favour. Teachers from regular schools also started joining the classes since they were attracted by the monetary gains that come with commercial success. This process has also helped by the commercialization of the 1980s when money became the sole measure of achievement. Due to the unchecked growth of coaching and the tremendous increase in the number of students reverting to such institutes, a need to regulate them was felt. States such as Goa and Bihar have enacted the law to regulate the coaching institutes but there is no law to regulate coaching institutes in the state of Madhya Pradesh and at the national level. Regulation of coaching institutes has become indispensable because firstly there is a need to regulate the fee of coaching by certain criterion depending upon the facilities offered and money spent on the students, secondly to check the misrepresentations made by coaching institutes with regard to information on success rates in exams, fee offered, faculties being regular or visiting, etc., and to provide remedy o students who suffer any loss owing to such misrepresentations and thirdly to set up an adjudicatory authority to address the complaints against coaching institutions. It is thus important to regulate the coaching to stop them from getting converted into industries established with the sole purpose to make profits. Realizing the exploitation of students and their parents at the hands of coaching institutes the National Law Institute University, Bhopal under

the aegis of Consumer Protection and Welfare and Cell for Consumer Studies has taken its initiative to organize One Day Round Table Conference to deliberate on the issue of The Significance of Coaching Institutions and Need for Legal Regulations with all stake holders that is heads of the institutes/ Vice Chancellors in the universities of Madhya Pradesh, proprietors of coaching institute/ center, representatives of press and media houses, students, and parents.

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