Govt fails to check fee structure, facilities in private coaching centres

Srinagar, Dec 9: Despite the rapid expansion of private coaching centres across the Valley, the School Education Department (SED) has failed to regulate their functioning, fee structure and basic facilities, leaving students and parents at the mercy of privately fixed rates.

With little oversight on the ground, coaching institutes—particularly those operating outside franchise networks—are reportedly charging hefty fees as per their own discretion.

Parents say the unregulated fee structure has turned coaching into an expensive compulsion, especially for students preparing for competitive examinations. The fee for regular sessions often exceeds Rs 1 lakh, while crash courses range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000.

Kashmir has witnessed a surge in private coaching centres over the past few years, expanding from Srinagar to towns and districts. Earlier, top franchise institutes operated mainly in the city, but the mushrooming of new centres has brought coaching culture to every major locality, reshaping traditional schooling dynamics in the process.

As per rough estimates, Jammu and Kashmir has around 630 private coaching centres offering coaching for Classes 9 to 12, NEET, JEE and other national-level competitive exams. More than 15,000 students are believed to enrol for coaching every year for competitive streams alone.

Parents argue that the issue is not limited to infrastructural parameters such as space, washrooms or waiting rooms. They question the absence of a transparent fee policy and the lack of inspections. “Nobody from the department checks whether these centres are registered or not. Even where basic facilities exist, the government has no control over the fee structure,” a parent said.

Over the past several years, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) has issued circulars and advisories to coaching centres, but the implementation remains limited to paperwork. With the annual Class 10 to 12 board exams now over, coaching centres have begun fresh admissions aggressively — yet no mechanism exists to monitor fee collection or ensure compliance with norms.

Education Minister Sakina Itoo said the department has taken note of the concerns raised by parents and stakeholders. “The department has been asked to issue orders with detailed guidelines governing the operation of these coaching centres,” she said.

Stakeholders hope the proposed guidelines will finally establish a regulatory framework, ensuring transparency, uniform fee norms and minimum standards of facilities — something long overdue in Kashmir’s expanding coaching ecosystem.