Karnataka: Draft rules propose banning coaching for under-15s, fee instalments, refunds

The Karnataka government has published draft rules proposing to bar coaching centres from enrolling students under 15, require them to spread course fees across at least four instalments, and order them to return fees for unused classes within 10 days of a student’s withdrawal.

The Karnataka Tutorial Institutions or Coaching Centres (Registration and Regulation) Rules, 2026, were published in the state gazette on Wednesday.

The draft rules propose limiting coaching to five hours a day, and violations could attract penalties of up to ₹5 lakh. They would require coaching centres to obtain registration before operating. Existing institutions would have 90 days from the rules’ commencement to apply.

The rules seek to restrict the duration and timing of classes, including tests, revisions, and doubt-clearing sessions. Coaching centres can operate only between 6am and 9pm, and not schedule classes during the regular school or college hours of enrolled students.

Admission would be restricted to students after their secondary school examination.

The draft rules propose barring institutions from misleading students and parents with promises of guaranteed ranks or high marks. They seek to prevent centres from collecting the entire fee in one payment. Parents and guardians must be offered the option of paying in at least four equal instalments over the course period, the rules say.

The proposed rules state that centres must provide parents or guardians “the option to pay the course fee in not less than four equal instalments during the duration of the course”.

Students who leave before completing a course would be entitled to a prorata refund for the remaining period, payable within 10 days of withdrawal. The provision covers hostel and mess charges for students living in the institution’s accommodation.

Coaching centres would have to keep information about courses, fees, faculty qualifications, course duration, refund policies and student outcomes updated on their websites, notice boards and prospectuses. The draft rules prohibit institutions from compelling students to buy books, notes or other study materials.

The proposed rules call for addressing the psychological pressure experienced by students. Institutions would have to make qualified counsellors available when needed and establish procedures to intervene when students show signs of distress.

The notification cited high competition and academic pressure on students. “...Tutorial Institutions shall take steps for the mental wellbeing of the students and may conduct classes without putting undue pressure on its students. Also, they shall establish the mechanism for immediate intervention to provide targeted and sustained assistance to students in distress and stressful situations.”

District-level monitoring committees would supervise coaching centres and their compliance with the proposed safeguards. Bengaluru Urban would have a separate committee. Another panel would cover the remaining districts.

The committees would include officials from the education, police, health, social welfare, and women and child development departments. They would have civil court-like powers for inquiries, including summoning witnesses, requiring documents, and seeking public records.