The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Friday fined two coaching centers Motion Education Pvt. Ltd. and Career Line Coaching (CLC), Secr., for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.The CCPA said the action was taken to protect consumer rights and to ensure that no coaching institute makes false or misleading claims in advertisements. The authority noted that both institutions had used students’ names, photos and success stories in the IIT-JEE and NEET results while hiding important details about the courses the students had actually taken admission in.The CCPA took suo motu notice of the advertisements after it found that the institute prominently featured successful students while advertising paid courses, without clearly indicating which program those students had actually taken. It was also found that some of the students whose names and photographs were used had taken admission after exams, falsely attributing their success to the institute’s programs. The CCPA further observed that the Institute could not provide adequate documentary evidence for several of its claims, even after repeated instructions.The authority said the two institutes failed to provide evidence of written consent from students or parents to use their names and photographs, as required under the Guidelines on Prevention of Misleading Advertisements in the Coaching Sector, 2024.The CCPA directs both organizations to stop misleading advertising and ensure full and honest disclosure in future promotions. However, both the coaching centers have challenged these orders before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).So far, the CCPA has issued more than 60 notices to coaching institutes on misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices, with the aim of protecting the interests of students and improving transparency in the coaching sector. After detailed examinations and investigations, the authority has imposed fines of over Rs 1.39 crore on 31 coaching institutes that offer coaching for exams including UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI and other competitive exams.
