ABVP seeks urgent steps to rein in 'coaching mafia', cap on fees and student intake

NEW DELHI: The ABVP has called for an urgent need to rein in the "coaching mafia"with stricter regulations for institutes, including a cap on fees and limits on student intake, while alleging that a nexus between civic officials and PG owners leads to unsafe houses for students.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, ABVP national general secretary Virendra Singh Solanki said the coaching industry had grown into a parallel system that could not be dismantled overnight, but needed to be regulated through existing laws and regulations.

"Across the country, coaching has become an entire industry. You can call it a coaching mafia or a parallel system. There is a reason why this parallel system has emerged -- competitive examinations are conducted separately and the kind of preparation required for them is not available in schools and colleges... Obviously, a parallel industry has emerged," he said.

"...Such a big system cannot be demolished overnight, but it can certainly be properly regulated. The laws and regulations that have already been made for regulating it need to be implemented properly," Solanki said.

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ABVP pushes for Coaching Regulation Act

"We had demanded this from the government in 2024 and had also given suggestions for a ' Coaching Regulation Act '," he said. Solanki said regulation should include monitoring of coaching institutes at the local level and checks on safety parameters, fees and the number of students accommodated.

"In every city and district, a nodal officer under the district collector can oversee coaching institutions. There should be no compromise when it comes to safety parameters, fee structures or the number of students that an institute is allowed to accommodate," he said.

"All these things should be properly implemented at the local level. If this happens, many of the concerns surrounding coaching institutes will be reduced," he said. Referring to incidents of fires and flooding in coaching hubs such as Mukherjee Nagar and Rajendra Nagar in Delhi, as well as incidents in coaching centres in Surat and Pune, Solanki said the pressure associated with coaching had also become a concern.

"In Kota, the rate of suicides has been a major concern because of the pressure associated with coaching," the ABVP general secretary said. He also flagged the financial burden on parents and called for a cap on coaching fees.

"Parents face enormous pressure when arranging fees to educate their children. If a student fails, there have also been instances of students attempting suicide because of this pressure," he said. "So there should be an upper limit on coaching fees. No institute should be allowed to charge beyond that limit, irrespective of how many facilities it provides," he said.

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ABVP raises students safety issues with govt, admin

"Education should not be commercialised in this manner. The coaching mafia has turned education into a market and a business. Therefore, regulation is necessary," Solanki said. On the collapse of a PG building in Delhi's Satya Niketan ahead of the DUSU elections, Solanki said the ABVP had continuously raised student safety issues with the government and administration.

"Delhi and the Centre have BJP governments, but ABVP has continuously been raising these issues with the government and the administration," he said. Solanki said the official who permitted the building to operate as a hostel and the officer responsible for checking safety parameters in the area were "primarily responsible".

"...The MCD commissioner is also responsible for ensuring that safety requirements are being fulfilled," he said. "They have to check whether there is fire safety, proper water drainage and whether other safety parameters are being compromised. They also have to check whether the number of students being accommodated is within permissible limits," he said.

"These are responsibilities of the administrative body," Solanki said. A multi-storey building housing paying guest accommodation collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan area on September 6, killing seven people and injuring several others. He stressed that implementation was as important as policymaking.

"If we look at governance, policymaking may be taking place properly, but implementation is equally important. Any mistakes or deficiencies in implementation need to be corrected," he said.

ABVP claims nexus between MCD, PG owners

Claiming that the ABVP found a nexus between MCD officials and PG owners, Solanki said, "What we came to know in Satya Niketan was that there is a nexus between MCD officials and PG owners. I would say there is corruption in obtaining certificates related to safety parameters and their certification."

"This nexus needs to end because it compromises student safety," he said. Solanki said the ABVP had raised the issue during the Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar incidents and held protests.

"We have consistently demanded that student safety should not be compromised. We raised this during the Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar incidents and also held protests. We are still working on this issue," he said.

He said ABVP has launched a website and portal called "NoMoreSatyaNiketan.in" to allow students to report safety concerns at their hostels and PGs. The students can upload photographs or videos and provide on the portal and our team will visit them, he said. He said the initiative was not limited to Delhi and that the ABVP had conducted a survey of student accommodation across the country.

"There are around 44,000 private, government and institutional hostels across the country, including PGs. We first listed them and then worked on them. Our workers contacted them and conducted a survey," Solanki said. "The survey report is currently being compiled. Within a week, we will compile it and share it," he said.