New Delhi: Our approach has never been about “chasing numbers”, says Sri Ram Srirangam, founder-director at Sriram’s IAS, the coaching centre for UPSC aspirants fined ₹3 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for running misleading advertisements highlighting its ‘success rate’ in the Civil Services examination 2022.
As part of an ongoing probe, CCPA initially issued notices to about 20 UPSC coaching centres, including Sriram’s IAS which claimed that it produced 200 toppers in the Civil Services exam 2022. The probe was later expanded to a total of 45 coaching centres, a majority of which help students prepare for the civil services examination.
“This investigation has been ongoing since last year. We repeatedly requested proof to support the coaching centre’s claims, but when they failed to provide sufficient evidence, we issued the penalty,” Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner of the CCPA, told ThePrint Monday.
“If they (coaching centres) had given truthful information about successful candidates, pertaining to courses taken by them, prospective consumers would not be duped for falling for their hefty, year-long classroom courses and would have saved their money and time.”
In the notice, CCPA asked Sriram’s IAS to immediately halt all misleading advertisements.
“Coaching institutes, online edtech platforms use pictures and names of some successful candidates to influence prospective aspirants (consumers), without disclosing courses opted by such candidates and length of the course so attended,” read CCPA’s press note.
Confirming the coaching centre complied with the fine issued by the consumer protection watchdog, Sri Ram Srirangam of Sriram’s IAS told ThePrint Monday, “Our approach has never been about chasing numbers. We guide many people across different platforms. However, we might not have all the documentation. I also need to tell you that many of our students get selected in various State Services but we don’t have the data for it.”
“When the CCPA issued the notice, we respected the law and complied with their decision, even though it felt like a personal letdown. We didn’t appeal because we believe in respecting authority, even when it’s tough,” he added.
For now, Sriram’s IAS says it has paid the fine and is planning a new advertising strategy.
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Why CCPA imposed fine on Sriram’s IAS
According to the CCPA, Sriram’s IAS had in its advertisements made two misleading claims: “200 plus selections in UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022” and “We are India’s No.1 Prestigious UPSC/IAS Coaching Institute”.
For instance, Sriram’s IAS claimed in advertisements that more than 200 of its aspirants cleared the Civil Services exam 2022, but when asked to furnish details by the CCPA, it was only able to do so for 171 aspirants. Of these, 102 were from its interview guidance programme, 55 from the free test series, 9 from the GS classroom course and 5 who were associated with the coaching centre under an MoU for free coaching with various states.
According to the CCPA, a sizable chunk of successful UPSC aspirants clear Prelims and Mains — which account for the majority of total marks — through self-study. Sriram’s IAS, CCPA found, primarily provides guidance during the interview stage, which contributes only 13.5 percent to the total combined marks (2,000) of the Mains and interview stage.
The CCPA in its press note said advertisements by Sriram’s IAS did not carry this disclosure, amounting to a violation of consumers’ right to be informed and protected from unfair trade practices. CCPA chief Khare underlined that “most UPSC coaching institutes do not come clean on the names of specific courses opted for by successful candidates”.
The watchdog, she told ThePrint, found that after clearing prelims (for which roughly 11-13 lakh aspirants appear) and Mains (3,000 of roughly 10,000 clear), coaching centres focus on providing “some online/offline interview guidance, often for free, just because they know that at least one in three candidates is likely to clear final selection by UPSC”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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