Centre forms committee to tackle coaching dependency, dummy schools, examine JEE, NEET pressure

In a significant step to address the influence of the private coaching culture, the ministry of education’s department of higher education has formed a high-level committee to recommend measures to reduce the growing dependency of students on coaching centres.

The nine-member committee will be headed by Vineet Joshi, secretary of the department of higher education. Joshi was also given an additional charge as chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in April.

The high-level committee has been instructed to brief the education ministry on its progress and actions on a monthly basis.

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High-level committee to assess fairness of JEE, NEET

The ministry has directed the panel to study the effectiveness and fairness of competitive entrance exams like JEE, NEET, and UPSC in the context of the school education system and their influence on the growth of the coaching industry.

The education ministry published a ‘Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centre’ last year in January restricting coaching centres from enrolling students below 16 years of age. It strictly prohibited coaching centres from advertising misleading claims and fake promises. The guidelines also mandated installation of CCTV cameras and appointing graduates tutors for coaching students.

These regulations was introduced following a rise in number of student suicide case, especially in coaching centres like Kota. The number of NEET and JEE-related suicide cases stood at 26 in Kota in 2023. By May the next year, the number had risen to 32.

The new committee set up by the ministry will review the advertising practices of coaching centers and recommend a suitable mechanism. The panel will also assess the availability and effectiveness of career counselling in schools and colleges.

Most importantly, the committee will examine the gaps in the schooling system and the continuing reliance on coaching centres. It will also look into the rise of ‘dummy schools’ and their role in encouraging full-time coaching at the cost of formal schooling.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken action against around 300 dummy schools in the recent past. It had also strongly condemned the misleading news report” that attributed a JEE Main 2025 topper’s achievement to a dummy school.

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Members of the high-level committee

The high-level committee set up by the ministry of education comprises of:

• Vineet Joshi, secretary secretary of the department of higher education - Chairman.
• CBSE chairman - Member
• Joint secretary of department of school education and literacy - Member
• Representative of IIT Madras - Member
• Representative of NIT Trichy - Member
• Representative of IIT Kanpur - Member
• Representative of NCERT - Member
• Principal of school - one each from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya
• and Private School - Member
• Joint secretary of department of higher education - Member secretary