Prescribed dos and don’ts in CCPA’s draft guidelines
Coaching institutes are now required to provide specific details in their advertisements.
- Alongside successful candidates’ photos, an advertisement should include their rank, the course they opted for, course duration
- The advertisement should also clarify whether the course is paid or free.
- Exaggerated claims like guaranteeing 100% selection or job assurance for candidates in preliminaries or mains are prohibited
- Any disclaimer or essential information must be presented in the same font size and style as the main advertisement claim.
- These details must be prominently placed and easily visible within the advertisement layout.
Penalty for misleading advertisements
The coaching sector will face penalties for deceptive advertisements in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act of 2019. Clear guidelines will soon be issued to provide detailed instructions to all involved parties, as highlighted in the statement.
Previously, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) proactively addressed misleading advertisements by coaching institutes. As a result, CCPA has taken action by issuing notices to 31 coaching institutes for deceptive advertising practices. Subsequently, fines were imposed on 9 of these institutes due to their misleading advertisements.
CCPA Committee
Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs and Chief Commissioner of CCPA, leads the committee responsible for drafting these guidelines. Alongside Singh, the committee comprises members such as the Commissioner of CCPA, representatives from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Education, National Law University (NLU) in Delhi, as well as individuals from institutions like FIITJEE, Khan Global Studies, and Ikigai Law, among others.