The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has constituted a Committee for Prevention and Regulation of Misleading Advertisements in the coaching sector—for both, online and offline centres. In its first meeting on January 8, the Committee discussed the matter indicating that draft guidelines for misleading advertisements in coaching sector will soon be published, according to a government press release. Chaired by Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs and Chief Commissioner of CCPA, the Committee included representatives from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Education, National Law University (NLU), Delhi, FIITJEE, Khan Global Studies and Ikigai Law. What will the guidelines focus on? The CCPA has said that the guidelines will cover all forms of advertisements regardless of “form, format or medium”. Importantly, it will also prescribe conditions for determining misleading advertisements—as defined under the Consumer Protection Act 2019--by coaching institutes. The guidelines prohibit coaching institutes from making false claims regarding success rates, employment offers, and “any other practices that may lead to consumer misunderstanding or subvert consumer autonomy and choice”. The CCPA has briefly outlined the DO’s and DON’T’s to be observed by institutes before advertising their services, these include: While promoting successful candidates, coaching institutes shall mention important information with successful candidate's photo. This information includes the rank secured by the candidate, course they opted for, duration of the course, and the type of course (free or paid). Coaching institutes are prohibited from making exaggerated claims of offering 100% selection in preliminary or mains of…
