Rajasthan coaching bill referred to Select Committee after criticism from BJP, Cong MLAs

NEW DELHI: Facing criticism from the ruling BJP and opposition Congress legislators in the Assembly, The Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control & Regulation) Bill, 2025 was on Monday referred to the Select Committee for review. During the discussion on the Bill in the House, some of the ruling party's legislators and their counterparts in the opposition Congress criticised the Rajasthan government for removing the minimum age requirement of 16 years for students and easing several compliance measures in the Bill tabled in the state Assembly to control and regulate the coaching centres in the state.

Following suggestions given by the legislators, Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Prem Chand Bairwa proposed to send the Bill to the Select Committee for review, which was passed in the House by voice vote. "The suggestions made by the members were important and they talked about making the Bill more effective. Respecting the suggestions and to make the Bill more effective, I propose to send the Bill to the Select Committee for review so that suggestions can be included," Bairwa said in the House following the debate.

Twenty-nine members gave their suggestions on the Bill during the debate. The House was later adjourned sine die by Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani. Earlier, during the debate, senior Congress leader Shanti Dhariwal said the Centre's advisory on the issue was missing in the Bill. He said Bansal Coaching was started in Kota in 1997 and till 2016, no suicides happened. He said there would be no benefit in enacting a law without knowing the reasons behind the rising suicides.

Causes of student suicides

"The previous Congress government had found out the reasons behind the suicides. A group in its study found education and financial pressure. Debts due to online gambling and drug addiction hamper studies," Dhariwal said. He said ragging by seniors, back-to-back failures and family and relationship pressure are the reasons why suicides are happening. Congress MLA Rafiq Khan said the Bill has been brought in haste. "There is no coordination between the Centre's guidelines and this Bill. Do not decide in haste. The Centre had talked about 16 years as the age for admission but that provision is missing in this Bill," Khan said.

Congress MLA Narendra Budhania said the authority has not been given power. The Centre had given instruction that the prescribed age should not be less than 16 years, but it was ignored. RLD legislator Subhash Garg said the Centre had released the guidelines in January 2024. All stakeholders should have been called for discussion. "Unless you make the child's family aware, you will not be able to stop suicides. Only coaching institutes are not responsible for suicide. There is pressure from the family too. Age bar is important but the Bill does not mention it," Garg said.'

BJP MLAs criticise bill

Ruling BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf and Gopal Sharma also cornered their government on the Bill, saying key provisions were missing in the Bill. "If this Bill is passed in its current form then coaching institutes will shift out of Rajasthan. Thousands will become unemployed. Bureaucracy will dominate due to this Bill," Saraf said. He said coaching institutes, the public, students and teachers should be consulted. A provision has been made to form a committee at the state and district level but no people's representative, NGO or judiciary members have been made part of it.

MLA Gopal Sharma questioned why the age limit was missing from the Bill. He said that various provisions of the Centre's guidelines were missing from the Bill. He also said the Bill provides for Rs 2 to 5 lakh fine for violation of rules. "Though it is a good start, the fine seems to catch small fishes," Sharma said. Following the elaborate discussion on the Bill in the House, Bairwa moved a proposal to refer the Bill to the Select Committee, which was passed by the House by a voice vote. The House was then adjourned sine die by the Speaker.

The Bill was introduced in the House on March 19 in view of suicide cases that have happened mostly in Kota, a hub of coaching centres offering courses for entrance to prestigious medical and engineering colleges across the country. Unlike the Centre's guidelines, Rajasthan has removed the 16-year age limit for students enrolling in coaching institutes, according to the Bill. The opposition Congress has blamed the BJP government for putting a heavy burden of stress on children by removing the minimum age criterion for taking coaching classes.

Aptitude test made voluntary

The Bill made the aptitude test of the students voluntary, whereas earlier drafts had proposed it to be mandatory. Fine for coaching centres violating rules has been significantly increased. The first offence will now attract a Rs 2 lakh penalty, up from Rs 25,000 in the 2024 draft. Repeat violation will lead to a Rs 5 lakh fine which earlier was Rs 1 lakh. Misleading advertisements will also be prohibited, according to the Bill. The coaching institutes had strongly opposed the Union government's 2024 guidelines, blaming them for a 30-40 per cent drop in enrolments and heavy revenue losses last year.

The Bill introduces new regulatory mechanisms. A 12-member state authority will be set up to monitor coaching institutes, conduct inspections and issue summonses with civil court-like powers. The coaching centres will have to publicly disclose details about their faculty, infrastructure and ownership to ensure transparency. Given the high-pressure environment in the coaching hubs, institutes will have to appoint mental health counsellors, psychologists and career advisers. Teachers will also undergo mental resilience training.

The Bill proposed refunds if a student drops out mid-term from coaching centres, hostels and caterers within 10 days. Despite the new rules, the state government has dropped several provisions from the Centre's guidelines. The Bill did not talk about disabled-friendly infrastructure, such as Braille study materials, e-readers or accessible toilets, according to industry experts.