UPSC Aspirants' Death | Supreme Court Seeks States/UTs Response On Draft Model Rules For Regulation Of Private Coaching Centres

In the suo motu case arising out of the tragic flooding incident at Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, in which 3 students lost their lives, the Supreme Court yesterday called for states/UTs response on Model Rules on Infrastructure, Safety and Regulation of Private Coaching Institutes, 2024 crafted by the Amicus Curiae in the matter.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order, taking into account Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave's (acting as Amicus) submission that the draft rules have been circulated among the states/UTs.

To recap, the petition was filed by Coaching Federation of India against a Delhi High Court order of December 2023, wherein a slew of directions were issued to effectively regulate the exercise of inspection of all coaching centres.

Deeming it frivolous, the petition was dismissed by the top Court with a cost of Rs.1 lakh. However, it decided to take suo motu cognizance of the larger issue regarding the safety of coaching centres. Issuing notice, the Court asked the Union Government and the Delhi Government to demonstrate the safety norms prescribed and the effective mechanism introduced.

In September, 2024, the Court was informed by Attorney General R Venkataramani that a Committee has been constituted by the Home Ministry, Govt. of India to look into the Delhi incident. In response, the Court suggested that the Union look at the issue from a pan-India perspective.

Now, the Amicus in the matter has circulated draft Model Rules for consideration. Reportedly, these Rules include measures such as employment of full-time student counsellor, creation of a helpline to address concerns of students and parents, a grievance redressal cell, a committee to deal with sexual harassment complaints, medical facilities including details of closest hospital, sufficient lighting and ventilation, safe drinking water, CCTV coverage (without violating privacy) & separate toilets for men, women & transgenders.

There is further a suggestion for installation of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, automatic sprinkler system and flood prevention mechanism (including elevation of floor level and installation of effective drainage system).

Other provisions incorporated in the draft Model Rules deal with requirements for inclusivity and accessibility, restriction on charging of fees, maintenance of records, prohibition against false or misleading advertisement, penalty for violation, personal and vicarious liability of owner/proprietor/others. It is also suggested that an application for establishing a private coaching institute shall be accompanied by the following:

(i) Curriculum details;

(ii) Tuition fees and details of policy regarding fee refund;

(iii) No. of maximum students in each batch and no. of tutors at the coaching centre (there shall be a ratio of atleast 1 tutor for every 40 students);

(iv) Area allotted to each classroom in the coaching centre, with ratio to the no. of students (there must be atleast 1 sq.mt. of built-up area per student);

(v) Academic qualifications of each tutor;

(vi) 'Fire Building and Safety Certificate' and 'Flood Prevention and Mitigation Certificate' from appropriate authority.

Case Title: COACHING FEDERATION OF INDIA Versus GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI AND ORS., SLP(C) No. 18653/2024