Action Taken Against 45 Coaching Institutes for Misleading UPSC Success Rate Claims

Action has been taken against 45 coaching institutes for making false claims about their success rates in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) investigated and found that many of these institutes only provided guidance at the interview stage. However, in their advertisements, they claimed that candidates had prepared for the entire exam, including Prelims and Mains, at their institute.

CCPA issued notices in 45 cases for misleading advertisements from various years, including to Unacademy, StudyIQ IAS, Vajirao and Reddy Institute, Vision IAS, IQRA IAS, Vajiram and Ravi, Plutus IAS, Khan Study Group IAS, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, Allen Career Institute, BYJU’s IAS, Greater Noida Institution of Technology, NEXT IAS, Narayana, and Shankar IAS.

CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare told NBT that penalties have been imposed on 15 institutions for misleading advertisements. IQRA IAS was fined ₹1 lakh, and Khan Study Group IAS was fined ₹5 lakh. Chahal Academy was fined ₹1 lakh, Seekers Education ₹50,000, Skyway Career Hub ₹10,000, BYJU’s IAS ₹10 lakh, Maluka IAS ₹3 lakh, EduTap Learning Solutions ₹3 lakh, Yojana and Plutus IAS ₹3 lakh each, and Sriram’s IAS ₹3 lakh.

Khare mentioned that these institutions have paid their penalties. Additionally, Shankar IAS Academy was fined ₹5 lakh on August 14. Analog IAS Academy, APTI PLUS Academy, Unacademy, and Rau’s IAS Study Circle were each fined ₹1 lakh. Khare noted that these institutions have appealed in higher courts and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and have not yet paid the fines.

Khare highlighted that most IAS coaching institutes did not clearly state which courses successful candidates had taken. Typically, out of 11-13 lakh candidates, around 10,000 clear the Prelims and move to the Mains stage, and about 3,000 clear the Mains.

CCPA found that most of these institutes focus on providing online or offline interview guidance to these candidates, often for free, as they know that about 1 in 3 candidates has a chance of final selection. Khare added, “If these institutes had clearly disclosed which courses successful candidates had taken, potential candidates (consumers) would not have been misled and could have avoided spending time and money on year-long coaching classes.”