Taming coaching centres: Applying the law ineffective, rot runs deeper

The renowned Ramiah IIT Study Circle was established by Dr. Chukka Ramiah in the Vidyanagar area of Hyderabad in 1985. Originally it started as a coaching institute to train Telugu students for the IIT-JEE. It gained massive popularity for its unique early morning 4 a.m. classes. Brilliant tutorials founded in Chennai, was the undisputed leader in the Indian Competitive Exam Prep during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Famous for its postal correspondence courses and rigorous study materials, it was the primary gateway for thousands of successful doctors and engineers in the country.

During the same period the iconic Agrawal Classes—founded by G D Agrawal was the undisputed premier coaching institute in Bombay for engineering and IIT-JEE aspirants. During this golden era, they dominated long before the Kota coaching factory model emerged, setting a strict high-performance standard that produced numerous top rankers. They had this tag-line “Ideal forScholars”. Till, the 90’s there were no coaching empires. Just your school teacher giving extra tuition for Rs 100 a month after school. If you were weak in mathematics the teacher would call you home. If you were good, you cracked the exam on your own.

But now the story is totally different.Strict rules and punishments were tabled and passed by the Parliament regarding paper leaks. Paper leakers would be punished under the Public Examinations Amendment Act, which enforces strict penalties, including 5 to 10 years in prison, fines upto Rs 10 crores and time-bound fast-track trials. Raids were conducted at coaching hubs and accused arrested, electronic devices seized, money- trails tracked. In addition to these, I feel thatthe government needs to seriously regulate the entire coaching system.

The coaching institutes network, testing centres and the NTA eco-system are hand in glove. It is not just the middle-men. What about the parents who buy the question papers with lakhs of rupees. Do they go unpunished? Tougher laws don’t help if no one is being convicted. Both sellers and buyers deserve equal punishment. Coaching centres are to be strictly regulated. As students even we made guess papers for our own convenience and study. One or two questions out of many appeared in the test but not 43 out of 45 questions. That itself is questionable!

Till 1990 there were no coaching empires. Now it is 60,000 crore industry. 2- year ‘foundation course’, for 9th class kids. Rs 10 to 15 lakh ‘guaranteed seat’ packages. Hostels, test series, apps----all to fleece parents who are scared. And the worst part? The same teachers who leak the papers are the ones that either run these centres are the employees there. They use their coaching database to sell the“LEAK”. The general public demands that all coaching centres to be brought under an Education Board like schools. No ‘guaranteed rank’ ads. Big money packages to be banned. Extracting Rs 10 to 15 lakhs for NEET/JEE is extortion not education.Private tuition by teachers like earlier days is enough. Not like institutes where the ‘raw material’ goes into the factory@ 6 am in the morningand comes out every day after 10 pm for two years, as a finished product. If the government says ‘no coaching center can charge more than school fees’---I feel half of them would shut down the next day.

But I am sure that there will be back door entry. Back door money, parents’ desperation and the worst part is some of the politicians are owners. This is an ugly triangle. Parents are desperate that their child’s ‘ek saal waste nahin hona’. So, they will pay Rs 10 lakh in cash, no receipt. Coaching centres run like corporates. And many are owned by or funded bythe politicians and law makers of the country from all over.

Land, permissions, police protection everything goes smoothly. Back door cash in bag becomes the normal. No GST bill, no record. Just cash in a bag. If CBI raids, they would declare it as donation. If politicians are involved who will shut his center. If NTA official is alsorunning coaching, who will investigate? The people who should regulate are the ones profiting. People in power toavoid conflict of interest should be banned from owning coaching institutes.

To stop back-door cash mandate digital payments plus receipts.Any one setting a question paper at this level cannot take coaching for 5 years. But till that happens it is parents’v/s the system! And parents always lose because they are scared for their child. Real change would not come from slogans. It would come when we break this powerful coaching—money loop.

But I have my own fears. Dishonesty has many doors opened. Close one door: they will open three more. If they ban powerful people they will put it on a close relative’s name. If you stop cash, they will take crypto or “donation”. If the fees are regulated, they will sell as ‘test series’, hostel charges and mentorship package for 15 lakhs. That is why law alone won’t work. The rot is deeper. During my student days there was no internet, no coaching mafia.

All about principles, not profit. Today everything is monetized. Fear is the product they sell. If you don’t join, your child will fail. And parents will pay. Because desperation doesn’t check bank balance orreceipts. A very genuine pessimistic thinking!“Will the new law fix the culprits”? By,now they would have opened a new back-door!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr Hyma Moorty

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