 "coaching classes, IAS coaching, tuitions")
The candidates who crack the Indian civil services examination will no longer be allowed to earn through advertisements from coaching institutes after their selection, Mint reported on Wednesday. The successful candidates will now have to terminate their contracts with coaching institutes after they sign the joining letter for the civil services.
According to the report, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has said that the use of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam toppers by these institutes falls under "misleading ads" and "unfair trade practices" of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The CCPA has also written to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to enforce the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964. Under these, no government servant is allowed to engage in any trade or business or take up any additional employment. Notably, DoPT is the controlling authority for all officers selected through various competitive exams conducted by UPSC.
The Mint report further added that CCPA has also sent notices to 20 IAS coaching institutes for misleading ads. Recently, it also imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Byju's for such misleading ads.
Byju's, however, disagreed with the order. Its spokesperson said, "We note that CCPA has levied fines on numerous education/ed-tech institutions in this matter. We respectfully disagree with the findings in the order and intend to appeal the same as we believe that the advertisements are not misleading."
The edtech further said that they would appeal against the order in the relevant appellate authority. In this case, the appeals are heard by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
In India, UPSC civil service exams are conducted in three phases. The first is a preliminary test commonly known as prelims. The second is a series of written tests called Mains. The third phase is the interview and personality test.
