CCPA issues guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector
Guidelines prevent coaching centres from making false or misleading claims/advertisements promoting sale of goods or service and engage in deceptive/unfair practices
CCPA takes sou moto action against 45 coaching centres; imposes penalty of Rs
54,60,000 on 18 coaching institutes for misleading advertisements
In a significant move to protect the rights of consumers and maintain
transparency in the coaching sector, the Central Consumer Protection Authority
(CCPA) has issued comprehensive guidelines to address the issue of misleading
advertisements in the coaching sector.
‘Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching
Sector, 2024,’ aim to safeguard students and the public from deceptive marketing
practices commonly employed by coaching centers, shared Smt. Nidhi Khare, Chief
Commissioner CCPA and Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of
India while interacting with media on the subject here today.
A committee was chaired by the then Chief Commissioner CCPA was
constituted on Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in
Coaching Sector and included the representative from the organisations
namely Central Consumer Protection Authority, Department of Personnel &
Training, Ministry of Education, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration (as a special invitee), National Law University (NLU) Delhi, Law
firm and Industry stakeholders.
There was general consensus among committee members that CCPA should
come with Guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisement in coaching
sector. After adequate deliberations the committee submitted its suggestions.
Based on the suggestion of the committee the CCPA placed the Draft Guidelines
for public comments on 16th February 2024. Public
suggestions were received from 28 various stakeholders including Ministry of
Education, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), ALLEN Career Institute Private
Ltd., India EdTech Consortium and Internet & Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI), FIITJEE, Career360 coaching platform, Chirravuri Research Foundation
for Human and Global Reforms, Civic Innovation Foundation, Wadhwani Foundation
and Consumer Education & Research Centre (CERC)
Some of the important definition in the Guidelines are as follows: -
- “Coaching” includes academic support,
imparting education, guidance, instructions, study programme or tuition or
any other activity of similar nature but does not include counselling,
sports, dance, theatre and other creative activities;
- “Coaching Center” includes a center,
established, run, or administered by any person(s) for providing coaching
to more than fifty students;
- “Endorser” shall have the same meaning as
provided under clause 2(f) of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading
Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022;
These guidelines are drafted in the wake of growing concerns about
false/misleading claims, exaggerated success rates, and unfair contracts that
coaching institutes often impose on students. Such practices have been found to
mislead students, influencing their decisions by concealing important
information, giving false guarantee etc.
The guidelines will apply to every person engaged in coaching, meaning
not just the coaching centres, but also any endorsers or public figures
promoting their services through advertisements. Endorsers, who lend their name
or reputation to coaching centers, will now be responsible for ensuring that
the claims they endorse are accurate and truthful. Endorsers who endorse coaching
institutes must verify the claims they are promoting. If they support false
success rates or misleading guarantees, they will be held accountable alongside
the coaching centres.
Some of the Key Highlights of the Guidelines:
- Regulation of Advertisements: The guidelines
explicitly prohibit coaching institutes from making false claims related
to:
- The courses offered, their duration, faculty
qualifications, fees, and refund policies.
- Selection rates, success stories, exam rankings,
and job security promises.
- Assured admissions, high exam scores,
guaranteed selections or promotions.
ii.
Truthful Representation: Misleading
representations about the quality or standard of their services are strictly
prohibited. Coaching institutes must accurately represent their infrastructure,
resources, and facilities.
iii.
Students’ Success Stories: In a notable move, the
guidelines reportedly will prevent coaching centers from using students' names,
photos, or testimonials in advertisements without their written consent—and
importantly, this consent must be obtained only after the student’s success.
This provision is intended to reduce the pressure student’s face when
enrolling, as they are often pushed into signing such agreements upfront.
- Transparency and Disclosure: Coaching centers will
need to disclose important information, such as the name, rank, and course
details alongside the student’s photo in an advertisements. Whether the
course was paid for by the student that too must be clearly stated.
Additionally, any disclaimers will need to be prominently displayed, with
the same font size as other important details, ensuring that consumers are
not misled by fine print.
v.
No Creation of False Urgency: The
guidelines will reportedly target the common tactic used by any person engaged
in coaching i.e. creating a false sense of urgency or scarcity, such as
implying limited seats or exaggerated demand, to pressure students into making
immediate decision.
vi.
Convergence with National Consumer Helpline: Every
coaching center will be required to partner with the National Consumer
Helpline, making it easier for students to raise concerns or complaints
regarding misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.
vii Fair
Contracts: The guidelines are also said to address the issue of unfair contracts
that students are often enter into with coaching centers. Coaching institutes
will no longer be allowed to use successful candidate’s photographs, names, or
testimonials without post-selection consent. This provision is intended to
eliminate the pressure that many students face when enrolling in coaching
centers.
viii. Enforcement and
Penalties: Any violation of these guidelines will be treated as a
contravention of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The Central Authority has
the power to take stringent actions against offenders, including imposing
penalties, ensuring accountability, and preventing further occurrences of such
deceptive practices.
Khare, emphasised that CCPA seeks to work closely with industry
stakeholders, consumer organizations, and regulatory bodies to ensure effective
implementation and compliance with the guidelines in the interest of consumers
and public. She further stated that misleading advertisement in coaching sector
will be governed as per Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the guidelines will
bring clarity to the stakeholders and protect consumer interests. These
guidelines are a crucial step in preventing the exploitation of students and
ensuring that they are not misled by false promises or compelled into unfair
contracts benefiting both consumers and the broader educational ecosystem.
The Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching
Sector, 2024 are expected to bring much-needed transparency and
fairness to the sector, ensuring that students and their families can make
informed decisions based on truthful information. These guidelines will be in
addition to any existing regulations, enhancing the overall regulatory
framework governing advertisements in the coaching sector.
CCPA had taken sou moto action against misleading advertisement by
coaching centers. In this regard, CCPA has issued 45 notices to various
coaching centers for misleading advertisement. The CCPA has imposed a penalty
of 54 lakhs 60 thousands on 18 coaching institutes and directed them to
discontinue the misleading advertisements.
Department of Consumer Affairs through the National Consumer Helpline
(NCH) has successfully intervened at a pre-litigation stage to ensure justice
for students and aspirants who enrolled for the UPSC Civil Services, IIT and
other entrance examinations. The total numbers of
grievances registered by the students in the year 2021-2022 are 4,815 followed
by year 2022-2023 having 5,351 and 2023-2024 are 16,276. This increase reflects
growing confidence and trust of students in NCH as an effective grievance
redressal mechanism before opting to knock at the door of Consumer Commissions.
In 2024, already 6980 students have reached out to NCH for speedy redressal of
their grievances at a pre litigation stage.
Following numerous complaints registered in the National Consumer
Helpline regarding unfair practices by various coaching centres especially not
refunding the enrolment fees of the students/ aspirants, NCH initiated a drive
to resolve these grievances on a mission-mode to facilitate a total refund of ₹
1.15 cr to affected students (during 1st Sep'23 ~ 31st Aug'24). All
these refunds were processed promptly at a pre-litigation stage after the
intervention of the department to the affected students from all corners of the
country who raised their grievances on NCH.
(The guidelines are available on the Department of Consumer Affairs
website https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/file-uploads/latestnews/Guidelines%20for%20Prevention%20of%20Misleading%20Advertisement%20in%20Coaching%20Sector%2C%202024.pdf )