CCPA has issued notes to coaching centers for misleading ads

New -Delhi, April 17 (IANS). According to an official statement issued by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Thursday, notice was issued to some coaching institutions to violate the ‘Consumer’ Protection Act and ‘Guidelines for Prevention of Misluding Ads in the Coaching Sector’. After the recent results of exams such as IIT-Jee and Neet, the CCPA found that the coaching centers did not follow the ‘guidelines for prevention of misleading advertising in the coaching sector, 2024’. The CCPA found that the coaching centers are doing unfair acts such as not providing the promised service, not the admission, redemption in the service, canceling the reduction of service and not repaying the entire or half fees. The CCPA advised all coaching centers to strictly follow the guidelines for the prevention of misleading advertising in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the coaching sector. The government said it is very important for the coaching centers to provide accurate and clear information, as well as to make misleading demands of consumers and not hide important information. In addition, coaching centers were asked to ensure success guarantee. The coaching center was asked to clearly explain the student’s name, rank, type of course and course in his ads. The government says that the coaching center also has to push the indemnity in the same font size so that consumers have no misunderstanding. The guidelines issued on November 13, 2024 to prevent the prevention of misleading advertising in the coaching sector prevent coaching centers to make false or misleading claims/advertising and misleading or unfair behavior to promote their services. These guidelines represent an important step in preventing the exploitation of students and ensuring that they are not deceived by false promises or forced unfair contracts. In this regard, the CCPA 49 notices issued and over the past three years imposed a total fine of Rs 77.60 Lakh at 24 coaching centers and ordered them to close misleading advertising and unfair trading practices. Earlier, the CCPA also acted against coaching centers offering services for UPSC, CSE, IIT-Jee, Neet, RBI, Nabard and other competitive exams. -Ians SKT/CBT