Bhubaneswar: With the Central Government issuing guidelines for consideration and asking states and Union Territories (UTs) to restrict admission of students below the age of 16 years, intelligentsia, educationists, and parents’ associations belonging to Odisha today welcomed the proposal.
“The proposed guideline is a welcome step. False promises are often made by coaching centres resulting in the deaths of some students by suicide. Students are harassed due to which their parents bear huge losses. Young children are usually admitted to coaching centres right from Class VI. In 2020, the parents’ association had handed over a memorandum to NHRC seeking justice, reacting to which, the human rights body had instructed the State government to formulate a clear-cut policy in this regard. Subsequently, a movement was started across the country including Odisha demanding regulation of the coaching centers,” Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha (OAM) president Basudev Bhatta said.
Click here to read detailed Guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Education
“As per the guideline, students up to the Class X level cannot be admitted to any coaching centre. In the days ahead, we will write to the Central Government to regulate coaching centres for admission of students at Plus II and Plus III levels. This will help regulate fee structures, curb harassment of students and build a healthy learning environment,” the parents’ association president added.
“Central Government’s decision is certainly a welcome step. However, as the Subject is in current list, the guidelines may not be properly implemented. Earlier, coaching centres were asking students only to practice some MCQ based worksheets than focusing on fundamentals of the subjects. They were making false promises to students and their parents,” stated noted educationist Prof. RN Panda.
Worth mentioning, the guidelines proposed by Higher Education department of the Central Government for regulation of coaching centers in the country was issued for consideration by different states and UTs by way of appropriate legal framework.
The number of unregulated private coaching centers continues to grow in the absence of any laid down policy or regulation. Instances of such centers charging exorbitant fees from students, undue stress put on students resulting in the students committing suicides, loss of precious lives due to fire and other fatal accidents, and several other malpractices adopted by these coaching centres are widely reported in the media, the Department notification mentioned.
