Govt. Launches New Push to Regulate Coaching Industry with Expert Committee

Government Forms Panel to Address Coaching Center Dependency

The Indian Ministry of Education has established a high-level committee to investigate the country's pervasive coaching culture and recommend measures to reduce students' dependency on private institutes. This move signals a significant effort to address the systemic issues within the education system that drive students toward supplementary tutoring for competitive entrance exams.

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The nine-member committee, headed by Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi, has a broad mandate. It will examine why students rely so heavily on coaching, focusing on gaps in the formal schooling system such as a lack of emphasis on critical thinking, logical reasoning, analytical skills, and the prevalence of memorisation-based learning practices. The panel will also investigate the rise of so-called 'dummy schools,' where students enroll for attendance purposes while focusing primarily on coaching for competitive exams.

Furthermore, the committee's scope includes assessing the "effectiveness and fairness" of these high-stakes entrance examinations and their role in fueling the coaching industry's growth. It will review the significant imbalance between the high demand for quality higher education and the limited availability of seats in premier institutions. The panel is also tasked with scrutinizing the advertising practices of coaching centers, including misleading claims and the promotion of selective success stories.

This initiative follows previous government guidelines aimed at regulating the coaching industry, which recommended against enrolling students younger than 16. The formation of this committee represents a more comprehensive approach, aiming to tackle the root causes of the issue rather than just its symptoms, and to create a more balanced and equitable educational landscape.