The Maharashtra government is preparing to bring a new policy to regulate coaching classes across the state. The goal is to create clear rules for registration, facilities, fees, and misleading claims made by coaching centres.
The School Education Department is developing the policy based on the Central Government’s guidelines and laws already followed in other states. As per reports, the draft policy will be presented in the Assembly’s next winter session.
The central government had issued regulations for coaching classes last year. States like Goa, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka already have their own rules for such centres. Maharashtra is studying these examples to design a policy that best fits the state’s needs.
1. The department is also examining whether the framework should focus mainly on control or on building a better-regulated coaching sector. As per sources, the new rules will bring the following changes:
2. Registration of coaching centres will be mandatory.
3. Registration will be based on set standards for infrastructure and services.
4. The policy will make fee structures more transparent.
5. Coaching centres will need to display their prospectus publicly and avoid any false or misleading promises.
The definition of a coaching class will be another important part of the policy. Many centres operate as commercial coaching facilities, sometimes along with junior colleges. Others function informally from residential homes. The department is working to decide which types of classes will fall under the new rules.
The issue of regulating coaching centres in Maharashtra has been discussed for years. In 2017–18, a 12-member committee was formed to prepare rules for coaching programmes. The group included six government officials and submitted a draft policy after several meetings under the then school education commissioner.