Coaching

Govt issues guidelines to crack down on misleading ads by coaching centres

The Centre on Wednesday released new guidelines to regulate misleading advertisements by coaching institutes, prohibiting false claims like 100 per cent selection or 100 per cent job security. The final guidelines, drafted by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), come in the wake of several complaints on the National Consumer Helpline. The CCPA has issued 54 notices and imposed penalties of about Rs 54.60 lakh till date. "We have seen coaching centres deliberately concealing information from prospective students. Therefore, we have come out with the guidelines to provide guidance to people involved in the coaching industry," Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told reporters. The government is not against the coaching centres but the quality of advertisements should not undermine the consumer rights, she said. Under the new guidelines, coaching centres are prohibited from making false claims regarding courses offered and duration; faculty credentials; fee structure a

Arihant academy acquires 51% stake in ZEAL academy at Rs 17 cr valuation

Coaching institute Arihant Academy on Thursday said it has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Zen Educational and Learning (ZEAL Academy) at a valuation of Rs 17 crore. The acquisition will enable Arihant Academy to expand its academic portfolio in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and cater to a larger student base with top-notch learning pedagogy, the company, which is listed on NSE SME platform, said in a filing. The company did not reveal the acquisition cost but stated that ZEAL Academy's valuation is priced at Rs 17 crore. "This also expands Arihant's presence across Navi Mumbai, it said. "By merging ZEAL Academy's local expertise with our teaching methods, we aim to create a more comprehensive learning experience and a stronger educational framework for students across the metropolitan region. We believe this move will not only enhance our offerings but also broaden our impact on the educational landscape," Arihant Academy Managing Director Anil Kapasi added. Kunal Pathak, Partne

Supreme Court to hear on Monday civil services aspirants' death case

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a matter related to the death of three civil service aspirants at a coaching centre here in July due to the flooding in the building's basement. On July 27, three civil services aspirants drowned in the basement library of Rau's IAS Study Circle in the Old Rajinder Nagar area here after it was flooded following heavy rain. As per the cause list of October 21 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan is slated to hear the matter. On September 20, the top court directed a Union government-appointed committee probing the case to submit an interim report about the measures it wanted to be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents. The apex court had also asked the Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to apprise it of the policy and legislative and administrative changes made to prevent a repeat of such incidents. It had said uniform initiatives should be taken in the entire Nationa

UPSC deaths: Delhi court to consider charge sheet against CEO, 5 others

CBI has already filed a charge sheet against six accused persons including CEO Abhishek Gupta

Consumer commission orders Delhi coaching centre to refund fees, pay fine

The central Delhi District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has directed a coaching institute in Rajendra Nagar here to refund Rs 62,363 to a student for "deficient" services, besides paying her Rs 10,000 as compensation for causing harassment and mental agony. The commission observed that the coaching institute, IAS Gurukul' was found guilty of publishing misleading advertisements and charging lump sum fees, besides getting itself unjustly enriched through unfair practices and deficient services. The commission comprising its president Inder Jeet Singh and member Rashmi Bansal was hearing the complaint of a student, Satyata, who said that after paying Rs 98,000 to the coaching centre, she found that the services promised in the advertisement and information brochure were false and misleading. "The mentors named in the brochure never visited or interacted with the students and no sessions on personal attention, counselling, test series, personality development, revision classes

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Rau's IAS case: Court grants interim bail to coaching's CEO, coordinator

A Delhi court on Monday granted till December 7 interim bail to Rau's IAS Study Circle CEO Abhishek Gupta and its coordinator Deshpal Singh in a case related to the death of three civil services aspirants in July in the centre's flooded basement. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna granted relief to the accused persons on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each with two sureties of the like amount. The judge also directed Gupta to deposit Rs 2.5 crore till November 30 with Red Cross Society, saying that as per the lease agreement of the premises, the accused being the lessee and CEO of the institute alone, would responsible for any loss claim, and damages to any person or material. The judge noted that Gupta and Singh were CEO and coordinator of Rau's IAS Study Circle, respectively, and were in control of its affairs.

National Consumer Helpline facilitates Rs 1 cr refund to coaching students

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has facilitated a refund of Rs 1 crore in enrolment fees to students and aspirants of various competitive exams, including UPSC Civil Services and IIT entrance, the government said on Sunday. The refunds were processed at a pre-litigation stage following intervention by the Consumer Affairs Ministry after students from across the country raised grievances against coaching centres offering classes for various competitive exams. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said, "This action reaffirms our commitment to ensure that coaching institutions adhere to fair practices and honour the rights of consumers." The NCH initiated a drive to resolve these grievances on a mission-mode after receiving numerous complaints regarding unfair practices by coaching centres, particularly their refusal to refund enrolment fees, an official statement said. NCH received 16,276 grievances from students in 2023-2024, up from 5,351 in 2022-2023 and 4,815 in 2021-2022.

Coaching centre deaths: SC asks appointed panel to submit interim measures

The Supreme Court on Friday directed a Union government-appointed high-level committee probing the death of three IAS aspirants in a coaching centre here in July due to flooding in the building's basement to submit interim measures in four weeks to prevent such incidents. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to apprise the court of policy, legislative and administrative changes made to prevent a repeat of such incidents. It said uniform initiatives should be taken in the entire National Capital Region to prevent another Old Rajendra Nagar-type incident from happening. "If the need arises, we will pass directions for pan-India to prevent Old Rajendra Nagar-type incidents," the bench observed. On July 27, three civil services aspirants drowned in the basement library of Rau's IAS Study Circle in the Old Rajendra Nagar area here after it was flooded following heavy rain. On August 5, the top court observed that coac

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Owner knowingly used coaching basement for commercial purpose: CBI to court

The owner of Rau's IAS study circle coaching institute where three UPSC aspirants drowned due to waterlogging in old Rajinder Nagar on July 27 "knowingly" used the basement for commercial purpose in contravention of the usage approved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the CBI has alleged. In light of the "seriousness" of the allegations, the CBI sought special court's permission for "custodial interrogation" of coaching institute owner Abhishek Gupta and other accused Deshpal Singh, Harvinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Sarabjeet Singh and Tajinder Singh who have been in judicial custody. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nishant Garg on Saturday sent all six to CBI custody till September 4. In its submission to the court, the CBI has said that its probe has also shown that the institute did not have a fire safety certificate for nearly one year after the issue was flagged before the Delhi High Court in 2023. When the matter was raised before the high court last year that many

Delhi coaching centre deaths: Court sends 6 accused to 4-day CBI custody

A Delhi court on Saturday sent six people arrested in a case related to the drowning of three civil services aspirants in a coaching centre's basement in Old Rajinder Nagar to four days' CBI custody. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nishant Garg sent Abhishek Gupta, Deshpal Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Parvinder Singh to the custody till September 4. "Considering the submissions in the application and in particular the scope of investigation in terms of the order dated August 2, 2024 of the High Court of Delhi, custodial interrogation of the accused persons would be necessary for the purpose of investigation and for ascertaining the role played by various individuals who might have been involved in corrupt practices or criminal negligence," the judge said. The judge passed the order on an application filed by the CBI seeking police custody of all six accused for four days for their interrogation. The order was passed after the accused were produce

UPSC aspirants' deaths: IIT professors examine SUV, coaching centre gate

A team of IIT-Delhi professors has examined the SUV, seized in connection with the drowning of three civil services aspirants at Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar, and the gate of the building housing the coaching centre, the CBI said Wednesday. In its report submitted before a special court here, the central agency said the experts took the measurements of the vehicle and the gate on Sunday. The agency further said that the SUV, a Force Gurkha, will also be inspected by a domain expert i.e. a motor vehicle inspector. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought one more week's time to get the vehicle examined by the inspector. The agency has made the submissions in response to vehicle owner's plea to release his SUV. Citing the postmortem report, the CBI has said that the three UPSC aspirants had died during the flooding on July 27 due to asphyxia caused by antemortem drowning. The agency said its investigation revealed that on July 27 at about 6.30 pm, several

Coaching centre deaths: Court denies permission to restart institute

Abhishek Gupta, CEO of Coaching Center, had sought access to the building where three UPSC aspirants died on July 27 in Old Rajender Nagar

UPSC coaching centre deaths: Court denies bail to 4 co-owners of basement

A Delhi court on Friday rejected the bail applications of four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil services aspirants drowned last month. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna said, "Investigation is at initial stage. I am not inclined to give bail." A detailed order of the court is awaited. On August 17, the court had reserved the order after hearing the arguments of the lawyers of the CBI and the basement's four joint owners -- Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh. The Delhi High Court recently transferred the probe into the deaths in the basement of the coaching centre building in Old Rajinder Nagar from police to the CBI "to ensure the public has no doubt over the investigation".

Need to come out of silos of seductive civil service jobs: Dhankhar

Pointing to the "extravaganza of coaching centre advertisements" in newspapers, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday expressed concern over the "seductive" draw of the civil services, urging them to look for "lucrative" opportunities in other fields. Dhankhar was addressing the induction programme of the first batch of joint masters/LLM degree in Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Management at National Law University, Delhi. "...Now, I find the extravaganza of coaching centre advertisements overall in the newspapers... page one, page two, page three are filled up with faces of boys and girls who have made it. The same faces are being used by multiple organisations," the vice president said. "Look at the extravaganza of these advertisements, the cost, every penny of that advertisement has come from those young boys and girls who are in pursuit of securing a future for themselves," he added. The vice president asked the youth to look around for opportunities in other fields as

PIL in Delhi HC seeks direction for new guidelines for coaching centres

The plea also advocates for the development of an education system focused on the holistic development

MCD seals basements of 10 coaching centers, libraries for violating laws

MCD also issued notices to coaching centers and property owners for misuse of property

CBI takes over probe into UPSC aspirants deaths in Delhi coaching centre

The CBI has taken over the probe into the deaths of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre in Delhi, officials said on Wednesday. Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala drowned after water gushed into the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar here following heavy rains on July 27. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case from Delhi Police following a Delhi High Court order. The court had castigated police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the students' deaths, saying it was unable to fathom how they could not come out of the basement. It also sought to know whether the doors were blocked or staircases narrow. "What's your line of looking? How did the children drown? You have done an investigation now. We are on August 2. Why were they not able to come out of the basement? It doesn't get flooded immediately. Water takes at least two-three minutes to fil

Coaching deaths: Court to hear bail pleas of basement co-owners on Aug 5

The bail pleas of four co-owners of a coaching centre's basement, where three civil services aspirants drowned last month, will now be decided by a district judge here on Monday. Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar, who was hearing the appeal of the accused -- Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh -- against the denial of bail by a magisterial court, on Saturday referred the bail pleas to the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Central Delhi. The court gave the direction noting it did not receive the high court order transferring the case to CBI. The District and Sessions Judge, Delhi Central, will take a decision in view of recent developments," Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava said. The matter has now been posted for hearing on August 5. The Delhi High Court had on Friday transferred the probe into the drowning of three civil services aspirants due to the flooding of the basement of the coaching centre from police to the CBI "to .