'Prevention Of Misleading Advertisements In Coaching Institutions': Here's What The Draft Guidelines Say

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has unveiled draft guidelines aimed at curbing misleading advertisements by coaching institutions.

Titled "Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector," the guidelines were released recently by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, seeking public feedback within a 30-day period.

The Ministry said in a release that the draft guidelines have been framed after detailed deliberations with all stakeholders including coaching institutes, law firms, government and voluntary consumer organisations.

It has defined coaching as “tuition, instructions or academic support or learning programme or guidance” provided by any person.

The guidelines outline specific DO's and DON'Ts to be followed when creating advertisements:

DO's:

• Coaching institutes must include essential information alongside the photo of successful candidates, including:

  • The rank achieved by the successful candidate

  • The course chosen by the successful candidate

  • The duration of the course

  • Indication of whether the course is paid or free

DON'Ts:

• Coaching institutes are prohibited from making claims of 100 per cent selection or guaranteeing 100 per cent job placement or success in preliminary or mains examinations.

It was also clarified that penalty for misleading advertisement by coaching sector will be governed as per Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The drafting of these guidelines followed the formation of a panel by the CCPA on 8 December 2023, to address the issue of misleading advertising in the coaching sector.

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