CCPA targets deceptive ads: New guidelines for coaching institutes

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is set to introduce guidelines for coaching institutes, targeting deceptive advertising. A committee, formed by the CCPA, held its inaugural meeting to discuss draft guidelines. The objective is to curb misleading claims by coaching institutes regarding success rates and the number of successful candidates, ensuring accurate information for prospective students.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry officials have stressed on the committee's recognition of the pressing need to expedite the finalisation of these guidelines, ensuring their prompt issuance.

CCPA's draft guidelines outline dos and don'ts for coaching institutes:

1. Advertisements must include specific details, such as successful candidates' photos, ranks, chosen courses, and course duration.
2. Clearly state whether the course is paid or free.
3. Prohibit exaggerated claims like 100% selection guarantee or job assurance for preliminaries or mains.
4. Ensure disclaimers or essential information match the main advertisement claim in font size and style.
5. Prominently place and make details easily visible within the advertisement layout.

Penalty for misleading advertisements:

The coaching sector will be penalized for deceptive advertisements under the 2019 Consumer Protection Act. Detailed guidelines will be issued soon to instruct all parties involved, as emphasized in the statement.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has proactively tackled misleading ads from coaching institutes. Taking action, CCPA issued notices to 31 institutes for deceptive advertising, resulting in fines for 9 due to their misleading practices.

The CCPA Committee, led by Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs and Chief Commissioner of CCPA, is responsible for drafting these guidelines. The committee includes members like 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.