Govt mandates registration for IAS/KAS coaching centres in Karnataka

Citing quality concerns, the state government has made it mandatory for institutes offering coaching for competitive exams, including training to crack IAS and KAS, to register with the department of collegiate education. 

In a circular, the government has asked competitive exam coaching institutes to register by paying a fee of Rs 25,000 within 15 days, failing which it has warned of action under the Karnataka Education Act. 

At present, several coaching institutes are running as societies or trusts and with trade licences issued by local bodies. 

According to officials, the government wants to check the mushrooming of coaching centres.

“There was a government order issued in 2006 that such institutions must register. But it was not enforced,” a senior official said. 

The department is planning to visit coaching institutes across the state for inspections with a view to streamline them. “Quality is a matter of concern. There are reports about some institutes jumbling up students and not providing basic facilities like drinking water and toilets. Once the registration deadline is over, the department will constitute a team to visit such centres and verify if they are functioning properly,” the official added.

The department has listed conditions that the coaching institutes have to meet. They include installation of surveillance cameras, providing drinking water, separate toilets for men and women, well-equipped library, spacious classrooms, PAN and GST number, qualified teaching staff, facilities for the differently-abled, details of Income Tax returns and so on.

Since coaching for competitive exams such as the IAS and KAS are offered after pre-university, the institutions have to register under the department of collegiate education (higher education). Coaching centres covering entrance exams such as CET and NEET should register with the Department of Pre-University Education. However, not many have registered, sources said.  

Retired IAS officer Y K Puttasome Gowda, the founder-president of the Krishik Sarvodaya Foundation that offers coaching for competitive exams, hailed the government’s decision.

“We think this is to maintain quality and it’s a good idea,” he said.