JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Monday issued notices to the state government, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE), Allen Career Institute, Kota and Shiv Jyoti School, Kota among others over functioning of "unrecognized" private coaching institutes in the state especially in Kota in an "institutionalized" manner in the name of preparing students for admission to IITs and medical colleges and subverting school education.
The notices were issued by Justice M N Bhandari on a petition filed by a Right to Education (RTE) activist Govardhan Singh Parihar seeking a direction to regulate and control such institutes which subvert the education system.
Govardhan Singh himself argued the case in the court due to advocates' strike. He told the court that "these unregulated coaching centres not only cause a financial burden to students and parents but also create psychological problems among them, besides violating CBSE rules and Right to Education (RTE) guidelines."
"Unfortunately, no effective action could be taken against the private coaching business in the absence of any law to deal with them or regulate their activities," he argued.
According to the petitioner, these private coaching institutes have ruined the careers of minors and "exploited them by way of giving false and misleading advertisements, using the names and photographs of successful students in their advertisements. I have seen photos of toppers appearing in the advertisements of multiple coaching institutes. The fees and other charges are so high and arbitrary everywhere that students and guardians have no choice but to bear the financial burden by compromising many things."
The petitioner pointed out that in Kota, which has emerged as the hub of these institutions, some 50 students committed suicide in 2011. He also argued that in Allen Institute, more than 60,000 students take coaching and they are regular students of another school. How can they attend classes in two places? He asked. It is a violation of RBSE and CBSE rules which require 75% attendance at school, he said.
Some schools, he pointed out, are functioning as 'dummy schools' which exist only on paper due to collaboration with Allen coaching institute.
The petitioner also told the court that the salary of the richest four directors of Allen career institute is Rs 100 crore per annum, which is more than the salary of Mukesh Ambani, the richest businessman in the country.
Admitting the petition, Justices Bhandari on Monday gave three weeks' time to the chief secretary to explain as to what steps they have taken to regulate the functioning of unrecognized private coaching centres. "We would like to know if there is any law in place to deal with them or regulate their activities," said the court.
