India needs comprehensive policy solution to mushrooming of coaching institutes: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): India needs a comprehensive policy solution to mushrooming of coaching institutes, the Congress said on Saturday and called for a revision of syllabi, more resources for all exam-takers and investments in the quality of education.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said data provided by the Department of Higher Education to the Rajya Sabha shows that GST collections from coaching institutes have risen rapidly between 2019 and 2024, from Rs 2,241 crore to Rs 5,517 crore.
This represents an astonishing 146-per cent rise in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, some part of which may be attributable to better enforcement, but it also likely comes from the growing market size, he said.
"Worryingly, the GST collections of Rs 5,517 crore in FY24, collected at a rate of 18 per cent, suggests a market of Rs 30,653 crore for coaching institutes annually. This is an extremely worrying figure, since it corresponds to about two-thirds of the Union Budget's allocation for higher education in FY24," Ramesh said in a post on X.
GST figures are likely underestimating the market for coaching institutes, which is notorious for its poor regulation, the Congress leader added.
"India needs a comprehensive policy solution to this mushrooming of coaching institutes -- syllabi need to be revised, and brought in line with school curriculum, more resources need to be made available for all exam-takers, and investments must be made in the quality of education," he said.
His remarks came amid a focus on coaching institutes following the death of three civil service aspirants after the basement of such an institute in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded due to rains.
Ramesh also posted on X a written answer on coaching institutes given by Minister of State in the Education Ministry Sukanta Mazumdar in Parliament last week, in which he said keeping in view the growth in the number of unregulated private coaching centres in the country in the absence of any laid-down policy or regulation, the ministry has circulated the Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centre among the states and Union territories on January 16 for consideration by way of an appropriate legal framework.
Education being on the Concurrent list, the states and Union territories need to take further action by way of an appropriate legal framework, Mazumdar said.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
