New Delhi: After issuing notices to 20 big UPSC coaching institutes, the government’s Central Consumer Protection Authority is now working on developing an advisory for the industry. The department has written letters to newly appointed civil servants and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for help in drafting it.
This is the first time the massive Rs 3,000 crore UPSC coaching institutes sector has come under government scrutiny.
“The coaching institutes don’t know where to draw the line. So, we will make an advisory for the industry and this is not just the CCPA, the government wants this,” Rohit Kumar, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, told ThePrint. “Some institutes are ignoring our notices, if they keep doing that, we will take strict action as per the law.”
ThePrint reached out to Drishti IAS, one of India’s biggest coaching institutes, for comment. This article will be updated with their response.
“Yes, some of them (coaching institutes) went to the court, we will also go there and fight,” said Nidhi Khare, current chief commissioner at the CCPA.
A few months ago, the consumer protection body began investigating false claims in the advertisements run by 20 UPSC coaching institutes about the toppers being their students. Notices were sent to several institutes including Vajirao and Reddy Institute, Drishti IAS, Sriram IAS, NEXT IAS, and Vision IAS. Penalties have also been levied—ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh—on institutes such as Chahal Academy, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, and Khan Study Group India.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle has even appealed the matter to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. IASBaba procured a stay on the notice from the Karnataka High Court.
“For the first offense, the fine is up to Rs 10 lakh and for the subsequent offense, it is up to Rs 50 lakh. But before putting the fine, we see how influential the offender is,” added Khare.
Also read: India’s Tuition Republic is bigger than ever. Coaching culture is an epidemic now
Fake advertisements
Since many UPSC candidates did not take coaching from any institute, the CCPA will check if their pictures have also been used for false advertisements.
“In my letter, I have asked the probationary officers if their (candidates) photos are being used by the coaching institute or not. If yes, then this is a criminal misuse. We are probing it as a civil matter right now,” Khare said.
This probe is not limited to the UPSC coaching industry. The CCPA will also go after the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) coaching institutes, a government source confirmed.
The UPSC coaching industry is on the rise. The competitive world of coaching institutes is such that success often has multiple parents. To strengthen an institution’s reputation, several UPSC coaching institutes use the same topper in all of their promotional materials, often without their permission.
The students who top the exam don’t even have to register and actively participate in the coaching course for it to count. A single, ephemeral act of participation, such as purchasing a test series, notes, or attending a simulated job interview, is sometimes promoted as proof of ownership. ThePrint published an exclusive article on this issue. Most toppers never even took full guidance or classes. A brief, last-minute engagement was enough for coaching institutes to flaunt them as their own.
“They are selling something else and claiming something else,” said Khare.
But now, for the first time, action is being taken on this practice.
“Institutes concealed the information about the toppers about what courses they took and when. Their advertisements are misleading. We won’t take action against them right away. First, we will inform them and then investigate. We will give them time to inform us about the ads, then only we will charge a penalty on the institute,” she added.
Also read: UPSC toppers are a catch for all. And coaching centres want their photos, consent be damned
Probing the coaching sector
Successful candidates of the Civil Services Examination have to clear all three phases of the assessment—preliminary exam, main exam, and personality test. The last phase is in interview format. While the prelims are important for screening unqualified candidates, it is the results of the main exam and the personality test that determine who is ultimately selected. Of the total 2,000 marks, the main exam accounts for 1,750 and the personal test is for 275 marks. As a result, the personality test interview makes up for 13.75 per cent of the final grade.
The government now says that the institutes advertise the toppers’ names just on the basis of mock interviews even if they have not attended a single course.
Misleading students
Khan Study Group (KSG) in Karol Bagh is famous for its interview guidance and coaching. In a detailed press release, the CCPA said that it imposed a Rs 5 lakh fine on KSG.
In an advertisement, the institute claimed that 682 out of 933 selected candidates in the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022 were from KSG. It included names of the top five scorers including Ishita Kishore, who bagged All India Rank 1. KSG calls itself the best IAS coaching institute for general studies and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in India.
“The CCPA is saying that the interview makes up only 13 per cent of the total marks, but you can miss your chance even by just one percent. Every part of preparation is important. They have asked us to mention the courses with the students’ pictures in the advertisement and we will do that,” AR Khan, the owner of KSG told ThePrint.
In its response to the CCPA, the institute submitted that out of the 682 successful candidates showcased in the impugned advertisement, 673 participated in its Mock Interview Program, which is free of cost.
According to KSG, 682 of the 933 candidates were its students. However, according to the data they submitted, nine students were enrolled in test series and general studies courses, and 673 students participated in mock interviews.
The CCPA claims that KSG has taken full credit for successful candidates’ efforts and success by prominently displaying their pictures in the advertisement.
“They asked us about the courses, and we have uploaded the forms. But they are saying our ads are misleading. We did not claim that they became IAS because of us. However, we paid the fine because we respect the law,” Khan said.
According to an internal CCPA document, Vajirao and Reddy Institute also insisted that 617 toppers were theirs. They claimed that all of them participated in the interview coaching session. Drishti IAS has claimed that they produced over 216 toppers.
The Indian coaching industry is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.07 per cent between 2023 and 2030, according to Infinium Global Research LLP, a consultancy firm located in Pune. By 2030, it is expected to be worth approximately Rs 1.79 lakh crore.
Categorising the market based on kinds and channels shows that higher education retains the greatest market share — of roughly 32.75 per cent in 2022. In the same time frame, it is predicted to rise to 34.75 per cent.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)