Maharashtra education minister Tawde to meet coaching class associations over new bill

Class owners to request government to scrap contentious provisions in the bill

State education minister Vinod Tawde will meet members of the coaching class association on Monday to discuss contentious provisions of the Maharashtra Private Coaching Classes Regulatory draft bill. Tawde will hear their objections, before the bill is introduced in the winter session of the legislative assembly.

State education minister Vinod Tawde will hear their objections, before the bill is introduced in the winter session of the legislative assembly. (HT Photo)

Bandopant Bhuyar, president, professional teachers association (PTA), a pan-Maharashtra body of coaching institute owners, said one of the major demands is an increase in the permissible class size. “Currently, the draft permits only 80 students per class, which we feel needs to be extended to 100. We also demand the formation of a regulatory body – a coaching class council that will have representation of class owners and government”, said Bhuyar.

Sachin Karnavat, president, Maharashtra Class Owners Association (MCOA), said the government needs to scrap the provision that requires class owners to give 1% of their profits to the government. “We already pay 18% GST, along with other taxes. Why should we pay more than that?” he said.

Another provision that has been criticised is the mandate for all coaching class owners to provide a dedicated parking space. “Most coaching classes are near the station. There is no need to have a dedicated parking area,” Karnavat said.

Subhash Joshi, trustee, science parivar group of classes, said, “The bill should consider the fact that classes thrive because of a competitive market. Excessive restrictions would neither benefit students nor classes”.

The first draft of the bill had been laid out in December 2017. Some of the provisions, that were included in the first draft but later removed owing to criticism by the association, include the setting of a cap on fees, giving discounts on fees and reservation of seats for economically backward students. However, coaching class owners however said that many of their suggestions were still not taken into consideration.