Rajasthan Assembly passes Bill to regulate coaching centres amid Opposition’s protest

An amended Bill on the control and regulation of coaching centres was passed in the Rajasthan Assembly on Wednesday (September 4, 2025) amid a vociferous protest by the Opposition Congress, which accused the BJP government of compromising with the interests of students and promoting the “coaching mafia”. The Bill was earlier introduced in March this year and referred to a Select Committee.

Based on the Select Committee’s report, tabled on the opening day of the Assembly’s monsoon session on September 1, some changes were made in the Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025. The revised Bill has reduced the penalties and restricted the ambit of institutions covered under it.

The original Bill proposed bringing all coaching institutes with over 50 students under its ambit, while the amended version has raised this threshold to 100 students. The fine structure has been changed with the minimum penalty of ₹50,000 for the first offence, ₹2 lakh for the second and cancellation of registration for subsequent breaches.

The original Bill had proposed the fines of ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh. Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa, who holds the technical and higher education portfolio, said the Bill, with the changes brought in, would ensure accountability of coaching centres and help regulate the coaching industry with an effective mechanism.

Also Read | Ministry of Education issues guidelines for coaching centres; prohibits intake of students below 16 years

The Bill makes it mandatory for all coaching centres to get registered, lays down the minimum criteria for their operation, and has provisions for setting up State and district-level authorities to enforce the law. No coaching institute will be allowed to charge lump sum fee in advance, while the tuition and hostel fees will be refunded if a student discontinues studies midway.

Congress MLAs protested against the introduction of the Bill with “watered down” provisions and said the BJP government was playing into the hands of coaching institutes. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said there was no provision to bar the students under 16 years of age from enrolling in coaching centres, as mandated by the Centre’s guidelines.

Amid uproar and heated exchanges, Mr. Jully said the State government had reduced penalties under the proposed legislation to benefit the coaching industry instead of addressing the crucial issue of increasing number of student suicides. Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati said there was no effective mechanism in the Bill to control the fee structures.

Former Minister and senior Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal raised concern over the scope for interference by the bureaucracy, as the regulation committees would be dominated by government officers. “The Bill does not provide any clear mechanism to prevent student suicides… The protection of children’s lives was a core issue behind the demand for regulation,” he said.

Speaker Vasudev Devnani rejected the Opposition’s demand to send the Bill to the Select Committee again and declared the statute as having been passed after putting it to voice vote.