‘Need a central agency to regulate institutes linked to admissions’

RECOMMENDATION IS PART OF SOPS ON PLAN TO CHECK MALPRACTICES IN ADMISSIONS

NEW DELHI: A central nodal agency under the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) should be created to regulate institutes and centres involved in facilitation of admissions to schools, colleges and universities, both in India and abroad, a government thinktank has recommended, adding similar bodies should also come up in states.

Such a central nodal agency will maintain a website to collect data of the agencies, institutes and coaching centres and coordinate with state nodal agencies to make sure they are following the norms while facilitating admissions by way of counselling, coaching, training etc.

The recommendations are part of ‘Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on regulatory mechanism against malpractices in admissions in schools, colleges and universities in India and abroad’ issued recently by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), a think -tank under the MHA.

The guidelines, reviewed by HT, stated that a monitoring committee each should be formed in states/Union territories under the state nodal agency with a designated office at district level. “This monitoring committee should have, in addition to other officers, an officer on deputation from the department of education at the Centre or state, and psychologist(s), career counsellor(s) for counselling of students and their parents,” the guidelines stated.

The committees will be able to register complaints in case of fraud, carry out inquiry, and will have a mandate to inspect these institutes on a regular basis. Defining the role of the monitoring committee, the BPRD has said: “It can register a complaint in case a fraud is detected or reported by the student or parent against any admission agency, school, university, engineering or medical college, involved in the business of facilitating admissions in educational institutes.”

“Upon getting a complaint, the committee will conduct an enquiry and submit the factual report to the police for conducting further investigation and taking appropriate action against alleged fraud. The district nodal agency and protector of emigrant must be kept in loop about such an inquiry against any institute,” the guidelines stated.

The committees, the guidelines added, will have a mandate to inspect the concerned institute at regular intervals to check compliance of government’s directions and check credentials of its staff, both teaching and non-teaching like police verification, composition of the agency/ institute, if managed by trust, society, and company or individually. It will also monitor implementation of admission policies and financial audit as stipulated by respective statutory bodies and that counselling is done in a transparent manner.

The objective, people familiar with the development said, is to have a just and transparent regulatory system in place to govern institutions and centres involved in business of facilitation for admission of needy students as well as keep a check on malpractices adopted by educational institutes.

A senior government official said: “The SOPs on regulatory mechanism in admissions were needed for transparency and awareness among stakeholders. It will also ensure that regulatory provisions issued by various authorities such as Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Medical Commission (NMC) and state governments etc are followed and students, parents are not duped.”

In the district offices, monitoring should be done by a committee comprising district magistrate (DM), superintendent of police (SP), a representative of civil society and an officer from education department to deal with the cases and grievances of students and parents, said the SOP sent to states/UTs, reviewed by HT. The BPRD has said guidelines may be prepared for all types of the agencies and centres engaged in facilitating admissions. For example, a coaching centre with more than 100 students will have to be registered under shops and establishment Act. No such rule is there as of now. To be sure, every state has its own shops and establishment licence rules.

“Every coaching institute should have a display board with its registration number, validity period of the registration, details of classes, name of the proprietor; contact number etc,” BPRD said. Similarly, educational institutes have to maintain websites with name and structure of the organisation and affiliations, information on courses etc.

In case of a serious fraud, the BPRD has suggested referring the matter to SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) at the Centre. While officials at the ministry of education did not respond to the queries related to the proposed SOPs, those in the coaching business expressed mixed opinions about the proposed guidelines. Keshav Agarwal, president, Educators Society — a consortium of around 300 coaching centres in Delhi — said the government had in 2013-14 planned to come up with regulations for coaching institutes. “However, the regulations did not see the light of the day so far. But we are skeptical of the recommendation of registering under the Shops and Establishment Act in case more than 100 students are enrolled. What will be the definition of enrolment? In coaching centres, 100 students do not come for classes at once, unlike schools. If they are registered under the Shops and Establishment Act, they will have to follow many unnecessary norms,” he said.