Headline: Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) seeks public comments on Draft Guidelines

for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector

New Delhi: In today’s competitive environment, students are facing a very hard time scoring good
marks which sets them aside from the rest of the students. To score good marks, they fall into traps
which look very promising to them without even having the knowledge about that, they waste their
money and just keep putting pressure on their minds. Also, parents play a key role as they want their
children to excel in academics, so they also get misled and fall into the traps laid by the institutions. If
you look closely, you may have seen the gates of schools, any building of a market or even
newspapers, have lots of advertisements from these institutions which claim to have over like ‘N’
number of students scoring top positions in ‘M’ number of exams, which we don't really see the
proof of. Just the way of making and showcasing the advertisements traps our mind and makes us
make wrong decisions which sometimes cost us a lot. These are the kind of scams which we should
take precaution from. Whether it is students or parents, they should train their minds to see whether
they are seeing the truth or seeing a lie which is beautifully painted as truth and later presented to
them.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has sought public comments on Draft Guidelines for
Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector. Draft Guidelines are placed on the
website of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Public comments/suggestions/feedback are solicited
and may be provided to the Central Authority within 30 days (until 16th March 2024). The Central
Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) conducted a stakeholder’s consultation on Misleading
Advertisement in Coaching Sector on 08th January 2024, which was attended by Department of
Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Education, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration (LBSNAA), National Law University (NLU) Delhi, FIITJEE, Khan Global Studies and Ikigai
Law. In the meeting, there was a consensus that Central Consumer Protection Authority should come
with Guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisement in coaching sector.

The draft Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector have been
framed after detailed deliberations with all stakeholders including coaching institutes, law firms,
Government and Voluntary Consumer Organizations (VCO’s) and are now being put up for public
consultation. Proposed Guidelines shall be issued under section 18 (2) (l) of the Consumer Protection
Act 2019.

The draft guidelines define “Coaching” as tuition, instructions or academic support or learning
programme or guidance provided by any person. Under the Guidelines, conditions for misleading
advertisement have been laid out. Any person who engage in coaching shall be considered to be
engage in a misleading advertisement if it employs any of the following practices –

(1) Conceal important information related to name of the course (whether free or paid) & duration of
course opted by successful candidate or any other important information which can influence a
consumer's decision to choose their services.

(2) Make false claims regarding success rates, number of selections, or rankings of students in any
competitive exam without providing verifiable evidence.

(3) Falsely represent that students' success is solely attributable to the coaching, without
acknowledging the individual efforts of the students. Clearly state the extent of the coaching
involvement in their success.
(4) Create false sense of urgency or fear of missing out that may heighten anxieties amongst
students, or parents.

(5) Any other practices that may mislead consumers or subvert consumer autonomy and choice.

Guidelines would be made applicable to every person engaged in coaching. The objective of the
Guidelines is to protect consumers from misleading advertisements in coaching sector. Thus, the
proposed Guidelines seek to prevent such misleading advertisements which effects consumers as a
class. Misleading advertisement by coaching sector will be governed as per Consumer Protection Act,
2019 and the proposed guidelines will bring clarity to the stakeholders and protect consumer
interests.

For more information on the new guidelines, visit the link:

(https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/file-uploads/latestnews/Public%20Comments
%20Letter%202.pdf)