Coaching centres flout norms, charge fee in advance
Srinagar: Throwing all the norms to the wind, none of the private coaching centres in Kashmir providing coaching for class 9th to 12th besides competitive exams, have made their fee structure public.
Most of the coaching centres force the students to pay tuition fee in advance while as the education department has made it mandatory for them to charge fee in installments.
“For four months I have to make an advance payment of Rs 40,000. I had requested that I will pay in installments but the concerned coaching centre refused,” said Imaad, a student who is taking coaching for competitive exams at one of the coaching centres in the city.
Importantly, the government had directed private tuition centres to notify their fee structure in newspapers before commencing tuition classes at their institutes.
The directorate of school education had granted provisional recognition to around 160 coaching centres, asking proprietors to maintain a proper record of tuition fee in accounting books besides displaying monthly tuition fee charged from students subject-wise, class- wise and course- wise.
“But none of the coaching centre is adhering to the government norms and are fleecing parents by taking advance payment of fee,” said Anzar, another student.
Coaching centres have been asked to notify detailed particulars of their faculty members such as qualification and experience besides providing 10 percent of the seats free of cost to the destitute, orphans and the students living below poverty line.
But, the proprietor of coaching centres often violate the 40-student limit per class norm and sometimes letting up to 200 to 300 students to sit in a class.
“The government circulars remain confined to papers only while as coaching centres are run by the proprietors as per their own wishes which are mostly in contradiction with the government norms,” said Muhammad Iqbal, a parent.
Notably, the registration of a centre can be cancelled or the centre can be shut down by the government if it detects violation of the rules.
Director school education Kashmir GN Itoo when contacted said, “Coaching centres will not be allowed to violate government norms. We have given registration to coaching centres on certain conditions which they have to follow at any cost,” Itoo said.
He said a team of officials will be deputed to inspect all coaching centres in phases and violators will be put to task.
Chairman coaching centres association Kashmir (CCAK) G N Var said the association is at forefront to support the parents and address their genuine grievances.
“If any coaching centre is not adhering to the set norms, parents can approach the association to register their compliant,” he said, adding that the “CCAK will also cooperate with DSEK in this regard”.
KV Correspondent
