Maharashtra’s draft coaching regulation law based on Kota-like centres, will harm small classes: Association

Coaching classes in Maharashtra have objected to several key provisions in the state government’s proposed law to regulate them. They assert that the suggested restrictions are removed from the on-ground realities of small-scale centres that constitute the bulk of the private tuition industry in the state.

The coaching institutes have expressed their dismay at the draft law, Maharashtra Private Coaching Centers (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2026, barring the enrolment of students below 13 and segregating students based on academic performance. They have also complained that many of the centres won’t be able to fulfill the infrastructure requirements, including the minimum area, parking facility and prohibition on running the classes in a basement.

This draft coaching centre regulation law , which has recently been released for public feedback, marks the latest attempt by the state government to control the coaching industry in Maharashtra. In 2017, too, a 12-member committee appointed by the government had prepared a draft law, but it never reached the state legislature amid opposition from coaching class owners. An earlier set of regulations, proposed more than two decades ago, was also shelved.

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The new regulations, for which the state provided all of 10 days for consultation, come in the backdrop of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak , which saw the involvement of several coaching classes in the state . In 2024, the centre had issued guidelines for regulating coaching institutes, asking the state governments to enforce them through “appropriate legal framework”.

Maharashtra Education: Coaching fees, infra, welfare

Maharashtra’s proposed law defines coaching centres as ones catering to more than 25 students. Besides requiring these institutes to register with the state, it seeks to bind them in matters related to fees, physical infrastructure, student welfare and other aspects.

However, the coaching centre owners contend that the proposed rules have been drafted with large coaching institutes in mind, despite the fact that the tutoring landscape in the state is predominantly populated by smaller, less-organised set ups.

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“The government is only considering the practices of coaching classes in Kota – which even they… stopped a decade ago. The government has no idea about how small coaching classes are run. Ninety-nine percent of the classes are small,” said Narendra Bhambwani, a founder member of the Maharashtra Class Owners’ Association (MCOA).

Bhambwani particularly criticised the prohibition on enrolling students below 13 – the national guidelines have an even higher threshold of 16 years – claiming that a large number of centres teach much younger kids. Many classes are conducted even in slums for younger children, as their parents are not educated. Also, many bright students join coaching early on for the Olympiad preparations ,” he said.

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Coaching: 5-hour cap, aptitude test to reduce stress

The classes also believe that it won’t be feasible for them to provide one square-metre space per student, as stipulated by the draft law, nor is it necessary to have parking space, as most students don’t drive vehicles. They also objected to a clause barring classes in basements, pointing out that many such establishments have duly obtained occupancy certificates as well as fire clearances. The requirement to have a website is also burdensome, feel the classes.

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The coaching centre owners have also found an issue with some of the measures aimed at reducing academic stress among students. These include conducting an aptitude test and counselling students about “the realistic expectation” of their capability, not segregating students on the basis of academic performance and capping the coaching time to a maximum of five hours a day.

Bhambwani said that the aptitude tests are an imperfect method of determining the students’ interests and capabilities. He added that the classes end up segregating students owing to their test preparation system. He also suggested limiting the five-hour restriction only for the days when students attend school for at least three hours.

“An impression is being created that the coaching classes are responsible for stress among students. That’s not the case. The coaching classes help them in releasing the academic pressure. Most of them teach them until a day before the exam. They reduce pressure on students and help them fulfill their ambitions,” he added.

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‘Dummy school’ onus on coaching centres

The class owners have objected to being barred from hiring the teachers against whom criminal complaints have been registered. They have also taken umbrage at the prohibition on ‘integrated’ coaching or dummy schools – where schools and coaching classes enter an agreement or understanding to allow students to skip schooling to solely focus on test preparation at coaching institutes.

Bhambwani says that the law puts the onus of ending this practice entirely on coaching institutes, while sparing the schools and junior colleges (higher secondary schools). “Under the existing secondary school code, a junior college or institution cannot run unapproved courses. The Act is not deterring schools and junior colleges from running coaching classes,” he said.