Coaching centres in Kota hail bill on institutes; 'death warrant', say small centres

NEW DELHI: The Kota coaching fraternity on Thursday hailed the bill tabled in the state Assembly on Wednesday to control and regulate coaching centres and termed it a step towards a "structured learning environment" and "need of the time" to check financial and mental exploitation of the student. However, the association of small coaching institutes -- Hadauti Sambbhag Coaching Samiti, providing academic tutorials from Classes 6 to 12 -- called the bill a "death warrant" and demanded amendments to it.

The Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government introduced the Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025, softening the provisions of the Centre's guidelines by omitting restrictions on the minimum admission age of 16 in the coaching institutes while relaxing several other regulatory measures on batch segregation, biometric attendance and aptitude test for admission.

Hailing the bill, Naveen Maheshwari, director, Allen Career Institute, said, "We welcome initiatives that contribute to a structured and supportive learning environment for students. The Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025 is a step in that direction, reinforcing transparency, fair practices and mental health support within the coaching ecosystem."

He said the 'Kota Cares' initiative , launched jointly by Kota district administration and Kota Students Welfare Society, has already introduced significant reforms in student housing, safety and counselling. "This bill further strengthens the commitment to student welfare and we remain dedicated to working alongside all stakeholders to ensure a positive and stress-free learning experience for students," Naveen Maheshwari further said.

Support from Large Coaching Institutes

Founding director of Career Point Coaching Institute and Career Point University, Pramod Maheshwari, an IITian himself, termed the bill most relevant in the present context to check the "exploitation" of innocent students and their parents. "The Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025 is very relevant in the present context, it is a need of the time as the kind of promises the coaching institutes are making, I personally find they (coaching institutes) motivate several innocent people for coaching despite they (people) not having either potential or capability to crack the exam," Pramod Maheshwari said.

On relaxation in the state bill from the Centre's guidelines, Pramod Maheshwari said flexibility in a fair amount is needed for coaching institutes to operate with students favourably. However, he did not agree that the removal of the minimum age bar for admission in coaching institutes will help increase the number of admissions of students which declined to around 40 per cent in Kota last year.

The president of Kota Auto Driver Union, Bhupendra Saxena, also welcomed the bill, particularly the removal of minimum age restriction for admission and relaxation, saying the number of enrolment of students at coaching institutes and hostels in Kota, which fell flat in previous academic secession, is likely to go up now in fresh session commencing from April. The dip in the number of coaching students last year adversely hit the monthly income of auto drivers and it would be good for them if the bill helps revive favourable environment, said Geeta Sharma, a female auto driver in Kota.

The office-bearers and members of the Association of Small Coaching Institutes -- Hadauti Sambbhag Coaching Samiti -- assembled at the district collectorate to voice their protest against the bill and submitted a memorandum addressed to the chief minister demanding amendment to the bill. They said the provisions of the bill have been formulated for high-tech coaching institutes providing coaching for career and entrance exams to thousands of students.

The small coaching institutes imparting academic tutorials for Classes 6 to 12 have been treated in the same category with the same provisions and rules. This is not at all fair and practical for them to follow, said Sonia Rathore, Kota district president of the Samiti. "We don't oppose the bill as some regulatory mechanism is need of the time, we only demand amendment in the existing provisions in view of small coaching institutes," said Dinesh Vijayvergiya, general secretary of the Samiti. With the current provisions, the bill is like a 'death warrant' for several people who are running tutorial classes for livelihood after failing to secure a government job, the Samiti leaders said.