New Delhi: Visit Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar or Karol Bagh and you will be greeted by a sea of garish posters, banners and hoardings bearing photographs of successful IAS candidates with their names and ranks in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination.
These posters, put up by IAS coaching institutes, advertise their successful track record and entice new students to enroll with them. Often more than one coaching institute claims successful candidates, with their photographs in advertisements of various training centres.
This practice is set to change as the process of finalising guidelines for IAS coaching centres to prevent misleading advertisements is nearing completion, two people directly involved in the matter told Mint on condition of anonymity.
Order quickly
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will soon direct these institutes to stop the practice of requiring candidates to sign agreements at the time of registration stating that they can use their qualifications (such as photographs, rank, video clips or messages) and claiming that they have passed the prestigious UPSC exam, the people cited earlier said.
Under the new guidelines, candidates will only be allowed to sign such contracts or agreements after successfully completing the exam, and only if they wish to do so, the first person said.
“These contracts are valid for six months or one year and offer options regarding the use of the candidate's qualifications, including photos, name, rank, video messages or addressing prospective candidates in classes,” the person said.
Concept guidelines
The CCPA, which falls under the Department of Consumer Affairs, published draft guidelines for “Preventing Deceptive Advertising in the Coaching Industry” in February.
The proposed guidelines, targeting both online and offline centres, are likely to impact IAS coaching activities, which ₹3,000 crore in the total annual turnover of the coaching industry of ₹58,088 crore. Delhi is considered as a training centre for the UPSC civil services examinations.
“We will abide by whatever rules the government puts in place,” Vaishnavi Shankar, director of Shankar IAS, a coaching institute, said over the phone.
Mint was the first to report on November 28, 2023, that IAS coaching institutes will no longer be allowed to use photographs of successful candidates to attract potential candidates.
The government guidelines will help potential candidates understand that the advertisements for successful candidates are based on paid agreements. It will enable them to make more informed decisions about the authenticity of the claims of coaching institutes, knowing that those promoted have likely been compensated for the use of their credentials.
Better decision making
This transparency leads to better decision-making and reduces the chance of candidates being misled by promotional tactics.
“The changes that the government is planning to bring in are positive. When UPSC aspirants join a coaching institute, they are usually fresh graduates, usually in their early 20s. At this stage, they often have little understanding of the hidden conditions imposed by these coaching institutes,” said Dr R P Beniwal, professor of psychiatry, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.
“But if they pass the exam and the same institute approaches them to use their qualifications for advertising purposes, then their understanding has evolved considerably. By then they are more aware and able to decide whether they want their qualifications to be used and to what extent,” the doctor added.
For a fee or free of charge
As per the final guidelines currently being prepared, successful candidates will be given the opportunity to enter into such agreements with coaching institutes, either for a fee or free of charge.
“Candidates will have the option to enter into such agreements either for a fee or free of charge, depending on their preference. The guidelines are expected to be approved within a week or two,” the second person said.
“The moment we join a coaching institute, we don't have much choice. The institutes even tell us that if we don't sign the papers, our admission will not be accepted. So we sign them just to secure admission. The changes in norms will definitely help UPSC aspirants by giving them more control over their qualifications and preventing exploitation,” said Payal Kumari (name changed on request), who is enrolled in a leading coaching institute in Karol Bagh, Delhi.
Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (CPA 2019) defines misleading advertising as advertising that misdescribes a product or service or gives a false guarantee with the aim of misleading consumers by concealing material information.
Queries sent to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs remained unanswered at the time of going to press.
Permission required
“This is a crucial step in protecting consumers, in this case UPSC aspirants. It ensures that IAS coaching institutes cannot use their credentials without explicit consent, which was not the case earlier,” said Manish K. Shubhay, partner at The Precept-Law Offices, a New Delhi-based law firm.
“Earlier, when students signed consent forms, they were often legally bound, leaving them with no option to prevent the institutes from using their data. This move could help protect the rights of aspirants and give them more control over the use of their personal achievements,” Shubhay said.
Recently, the CCPA issued warnings to 45 coaching companies for violating consumer rights through misleading advertising and unethical tactics. Of these, 15 companies were penalized, with total fines of ₹38.60 lakh.
The UPSC Civil Services Examination, conducted in three phases every year, recruits officers for all Indian services such as the IAS and the Indian Police Service, and central civil services such as the Indian Revenue Service. The first phase is the Preliminary Test (PT), a screening test and the marks obtained in the PT are not counted in the next two phases: the Mains and the Personality Test. The marks obtained in both the Mains and the Personality Test are counted for the final selection.
