Jaipur: The Rajasthan government tabled a bill in the state assembly on Wednesday to address the rising cases of student suicides linked to coaching hubs across the state.
The proposed legislation outlines key measures, including the establishment of a two-tier regulatory authority to monitor coaching centres, mandatory registration with the higher education department, and restrictions on class schedules during school hours. Additionally, the bill stipulates a penalty of ₹500,000 for institutes that fail to adhere to these new guidelines, aiming to create a safer, more supportive environment for students.
At least eight students have died by suicide in Kota in the first three months of 2025. Last year, 20 students died by suicide in the district, down from 27 in 2023.
The proposed bill, ‘Rajasthan Coaching Centre (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025’, seen by HT, is based on the Coaching Centre Regulatory Guidelines notified by the union ministry of education on January 16.
Also Read: Coaching centres of Delhi: The ecosystem that feeds on aspiration
“Over the past two decades, the State of Rajasthan has witnessed an unchecked proliferation of coaching centres. These centres often operate in a largely unregulated environment, luring lakhs of students every year with promises of guaranteed success in competitive examinations such as NEET, IIT-JEE, IIM entrance tests, and CLAT,” said deputy chief minister Prem Chand Bairwa.
He added, “The false claims and high-pressure environment fostered by many of these institutes result in widespread disillusionment and despair among students when outcomes do not match expectations. Tragically, this often leads to heightened stress levels and, in several instances, even suicides.”
Bairwa, who is also the minister for higher and technical education of Rajasthan, said the state government seeks to formalise the guidelines through the proposed Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025.
The Rajasthan Private Educational Regulatory Authority Bill-2022 could not be tabled in 2022 due to several objections from legal organisations, an official familiar with the matter said.
The latest bill, initially drafted on July 22, 2024, and sent to various stakeholders for suggestions, was objected to by at least 25 coaching institutes across the state. The key provisions that faced opposition included a 16-year age limit during admission, administrative monitoring, and penalties. As a result, the government made a few minor changes in the final bill, while the overall structure remained largely the same.
Also Read: 248 coaching centres violating building rules in Delhi, 128 sealed: MCD
According to the bill, a 12-member Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Authority will be formed. Chaired by the secretary of the higher education department, the committee will also include secretaries from the school education department, medical education department, technical education department, and the state’s director general of police (DGP).
A district authority will also be established with another 12 members, including the police superintendent (SP), chief medical and health officer (CMHO), and the chief district education officer. The district panel will be chaired by the concerned district collector and monitored by the state-level authority.
The bill stipulates that the district authority “shall create a web-portal/online mechanism to facilitate the registration of coaching centres in a faceless manner with minimal human interface. The committee shall take all such steps as necessary to ensure the promotion and protection of students, along with ensuring the imparting of quality education in all coaching centres, …constitute a Grievance Redressal Cell, … inspect suo motu or upon any complaint, any records of a coaching centre by itself or any person or persons authorised by the Chairman of the District Committee.”
The state-level authority, according to the bill, will prepare a centralised portal to gather information sent by the district authority regarding the coaching centres and the students. “It may also establish a 24×7 call centre for such districts as may be prescribed for the purpose of addressing grievances of students enrolled in coaching centres. It may inspect any premises of a coaching centre and ask for any such records, accounts, register or other documents for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is or has been any such contravention, and if the Authority is of the view that further action is required, the Authority may refer the matter to the District Committee for necessary action,” the bill further states.
To register coaching centres, the bill directs existing institute authorities to apply to the district authority within three months after the bill comes into effect as law.
“In the case of coaching centres with multiple branches, each branch shall be treated as a separate coaching centre, and it shall be necessary to submit a separate application for the registration of each branch. The period of validity of the registration certificate shall be three years,” the bill adds.
The bill mandates coaching centres to stop malpractices such as bogus advertisements, false claims, lucrative offers, and promises of sure selection. It also requires institutes to conduct a mandatory screening test during admission, not segregate batches based on merit, not admit students below 16 years of age or those who have not appeared for the secondary exam, maintain a healthy teacher-student ratio in every class, and provide students with optional career options, other than Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
“Coaching classes for those students who are also studying in institutions/schools shall not be conducted during their institutions/schools’ hours so that their regular attendance in such institutions/schools remains unaffected and to avoid dummy schools,” the bill reads.
Other recommendations in the bill to reduce student stress include “a mandatory weekly off for both teachers and students, a gatekeeping session for the teachers to better communicate with aspirants, and the setup of career counselling and psychotherapeutic services in every coaching centre.” As a precautionary measure, the bill also requires coaching centres to “make students and parents aware of the intense preparation and the difference between school exams and competitive examinations during admission.”
The district authority will also have the power to penalise institutes in case of any violations. “In the case of violation of any of the terms and conditions of registration or general conditions, the coaching centre shall be liable for penalties as follows: (i) ₹200,000 for the first offence; (ii) ₹500,000 for the second offence; (iii) revocation of registration for subsequent offences,” the bill reads.
The maximum penalty amount in the July draft was only ₹100,000, as per what was provisioned under the Ministry of Education (MoE) guidelines.
However, the first draft of the bill in July 2024 included a core provision barring students below 16 years of age from taking admission in any of these coaching centres, as per the MoE’s January 16, 2024 guidelines. This provision was removed in the latest bill after protests by coaching institutes.
“The suggestions that we made after the first draft was made in July 2024 were given almost no weight. These two-tier bodies will reduce the autonomy of the coaching centres, spoiling a free environment. Such unnecessary stringent monitoring may also lead to the withdrawal of many admissions,” said Peeyush Sunda, owner of the Sikar-based coaching institute Prince Career Point.
A former senior police officer, now a faculty member at a Jaipur-based coaching centre, said, “The coaching centres have a negligible role in the students’ suicide cases. The good institutes are already following the guidelines and ensuring psychological counselling and a stress-free environment for students. We are ready to cooperate with the government by all means. But the government is after finishing the coaching system. We need to understand that students come to these institutes only when schools lack the provision for advanced study.”
Earlier, on September 28, 2023, the Rajasthan government, in a set of regulatory guidelines, also announced a series of measures to prevent student suicides, such as a mandatory screening test, the alphabetical sorting of students into sections instead of rank-based, and the admission of students who are in Class IX or higher. It also mandated the installation of spring fans in every hostel.