The Kerala Government has introduced a new policy as many entrance coaching institutions are charging excessive fees and some are even functioning without government approval. This was mainly to highlight issues like students transferring from open schools to such institutions after registration, and no common standards or uniform guidelines in place. The high fees charged by these coaching centres become a burden for students and their families, particularly those opting for open schooling.
Why such policies has been introduced?
- To stop entrance coaching centres from charging excessive fees
- Allow for operating to the institutions aligned with the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009, the Kerala Education (RTE) and rules, 1959
- To make quality coaching more accessible and affordable for all students, regardless of their financial background.
- To make a more balanced and ethical ecosystem, accessibility, quality education, and fair competition.
- To protect teachers’ rights and promote fair labour practices.
The Policy Aimed to:
- Ensuring Affordability: Reducing the financial burden on students and families by formulating uniformity in fee structures and preventing excessive charges.
- Ensuring Fair Competition: High level of playing field where coaching centres compete based on quality education rather than just pricing.
- Advance technologies: Establish minimum benchmarks for infrastructure, teacher qualifications, and curriculum to ensure a certain level of quality for a better future for students.
- Protecting Student Welfare: Concentrates on the student’s stress, mental health, and exploitation by coaching centres involving age limitations, counselling services, and grievance redressal mechanisms and tries to resolve it.
- Enhancing Quality of Education: Promote coaching centres to utilize different teaching methods that focus on understanding concepts rather than just rote memorization.
- Streamlining the Coaching Ecosystem: The policy aims to create a more organized coaching sector with clear and accurate registration procedures, grievance redressal mechanisms, and a system for monitoring adherence to regulations.
- Flexibility in Admission Process: The students will be given admission to aided schools without TC from the previous school being submitted
The Impact of the New Policy on Such Institutions
- Large Chains: Established coaching chains with strong financial resources might be better equipped to adapt to regulations and might even benefit from a more standardized market.
- Investing in Training and Development: Coaching centres need to invest in training programs to help existing staff meet qualification requirements and develop new skill sets aligned with the policy’s focus on quality education.
- Student Support Services: Regulations might mandate coaching centres to provide student support services like career counselling, doubt-clearing sessions, and mental health awareness programs by creating a more holistic learning environment that goes beyond just exam preparation.
- Potential for Collaboration: It encourages collaboration between coaching centres and schools that involves joint workshops, teacher exchange programs, or standardized learning materials. It can be beneficial for both institutions and improve the overall quality of education.
- Privacy and Security: Stricter regulations on data privacy and security. This type of coaching institution should invest in robust systems to secure student data and to ensure it is used ethically and responsibly, potentially for personalized learning or progress tracking.
Regulating entrance coaching institutions this policy gives assurance that there is a fair playing field for students along with highlighting excessive fees, lack of standardization, and potential exploitation, the policy seeks to promote quality education and ethical practices. Reducing financial burdens, ensuring better instruction, and fostering a less stressful learning environment would be beneficial for students. There might be short-term adjustments for coaching centres, the long-term goal is to create a more balanced ecosystem that prioritizes student well-being and academic success.