Govt to clip wings of coaching classes with proposed new law | Mumbai news

htmumbai@hindustantimes.com

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is planning a new law to regulate private coaching classes with regard to the educational qualifications of teachers, safety/infrastructure norms and monitoring of misleading advertisements among other things. The school education department is, however, divided on the issue of regulating fees—one section feels that this would be inappropriate, given that the coaching provided is not the fundamental source of education.

The school education department is studying the laws enacted by a few other states including Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is expected to bring in the bill to regulate coaching classes in the forthcoming monsoon session of the state legislature. “The department has been studying the laws of other states and the changes that need to be made in the Maharashtra draft. The guidelines issued by the central government for the operation of these classes are also being taken into consideration,” said an official from the department. The department has included the enactment of the bill in its 100-day programme.

The law is expected to make the registration of coaching classes mandatory in the state. “Besides, it will have clear rules related to infrastructure, including space per student in the classrooms,” said the officer. “Although the central guidelines mandate one square metre per student, it may not be feasible in cities like Mumbai and Pune, and the Maharashtra bill may have to tweak this a bit. The coaching classes will have to follow safety norms and get the safety mechanisms certified by the authorities from time to time. The law will have a clear mandate related to this.”

The school education department has however not come to a conclusion on whether to regulate the fees charged by the classes. “The education imparted by the coaching classes is not part of the fundamental duty of the government and cannot be capped, as it is a mutual agreement between the students and the classes,” said another officer. “Instead of taking on this onus, the department believes that it should be left to market forces to decide.”

The officer said that the thrust of the legislation would be geared to the advertisements issued by coaching classes. “The Act will curb malpractices in this field, as many classes put out tall claims related to the marks their students get in schools and competitive exams,” said the officer. “The main objective of the law will be to stop them from broadcasting this misleading information.”

The department has also deliberated upon the definition of ‘coaching classes’ and the sectors that should be brought within the gamut of the definition. “Classes that impart music and dance training or even those that teach sports like cricket cannot be considered coaching classes. They will not be part of the regulation,” said the officer.

Ranjit Singh Deol, principal secretary, school education, said, “We are studying the laws of other states and reviewing them to see what more can be done to make the law comprehensive. It is difficult to say whether it will be tabled in the monsoon session.”