Rajasthan Eases Coaching Bill Provisions Amid Rising Student Suicides and Rs 7,000 Crore Industry Pressure

Quick Summary

• The Rajasthan government revised its Coaching Centres (Control adn Regulation) Bill, 2025, easing several provisions compared to the Union government’s guidelines.
• Changes made aim to address coaching industry concerns about financial losses and decreased student enrolment caused by previous regulations:

– Age limit of 16+ for enrolment removed.
– Mandatory aptitude tests made optional.
– Batch segregation rules omitted.
– biometric attendance requirement removed.

• Industry insiders estimate a decline of nearly 40,000 students in Kota last year alone due to stricter rules, resulting in financial losses across related businesses like hostels, transport services, and real estate.
• Revised bill mandates mental health resources at coaching centres with psychologists and counsellors required on staff.
• New provisions include fines for misleading advertisements (?2 lakh for first offences), mandatory fee refunds within ten days for mid-term dropouts, teacher training on handling student stress, and full transparency of faculty credentials and infrastructure.
• The bill will be discussed further in the state assembly.

Image Details:
Rajasthan Coaching Institute Bill surrounded by rising concerns over suicides among students at coaching centers (Photo credit: IANS).

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Indian Opinion Analysis

The revision of Rajasthan’s Coaching institutes Bill reflects a notable balancing act between regulating student welfare in an industry marred by suicides while addressing economic pressures from declining registrations. On one hand, easing compliance burden supports a robust rs 7,000 crore coaching ecosystem that indirectly benefits related sectors such as housing rentals and transport services; however, these relaxations must be carefully monitored to avoid compromising quality safeguards.

Removing measures like age restrictions or aptitude tests may reduce barriers to entry but could affect the preparedness of younger students enrolling under high academic pressure environments. Additionally, omissions like disabled-pleasant measures signal missed opportunities toward inclusivity-an area emphasized by central guidelines.

The inclusion of mental health professionals is crucial given recent suicide statistics (41 deaths across two years) but requires effective implementation rather than token adherence. While strict penalties addressing false advertising demonstrate accountability efforts for transparency within this competitive industry landscape.

Overall success will depend on rigorous enforcement combined with proactive oversight mechanisms ensuring that eased conditions don’t dilute safety or ethics-a delicate challenge requiring balanced governance as the assembly deliberates further details this week.Read More