Nearly two years after the death of three UPSC aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar here exposed glaring safety lapses in Delhi’s vast coaching industry, the Delhi Government has begun the process of framing a comprehensive regulatory framework for coaching institutes across the Capital.
Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Thursday chaired a meeting at the Delhi Secretariat with representatives from all major regulatory and civic agencies to discuss the contours of the proposed policy.
The move follows the July 2024 tragedy in Old Rajinder Nagar, one of Delhi’s largest coaching hubs, where students lost their lives after rainwater flooded the basement of a coaching institute. The incident triggered widespread outrage, protests by students and demands for stricter regulation of coaching centres operating in the congested commercial and residential areas.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Delhi High Court constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) RC Gauba to examine vulnerabilities in coaching hubs and recommend measures to prevent similar tragedies. The committee’s report highlighted systemic shortcomings in infrastructure, safety compliance and regulatory oversight, laying the groundwork for a more robust framework.
Against this backdrop, Thursday’s meeting brought together senior officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Fire Services, Directorate of Higher Education, Delhi Police, Labour Department, Health Department and Urban Development Department, among others.
“The Delhi Government is taking the matter of coaching institutes very seriously,” Sood said.
The meeting marked a significant shift from fragmented monitoring by multiple civic agencies towards a coordinated academic and regulatory approach. The government has designated the Director of Higher Education as the nodal officer for drafting the policy.
According to officials, a multidisciplinary committee will now be constituted to formulate detailed guidelines governing the functioning of coaching institutes in Delhi. The proposed framework will cover critical areas such as fee structure, student safety and welfare, mental health support and counselling mechanisms, infrastructure standards, building safety compliance, fire and emergency preparedness, teacher and staff welfare and standardisation of working conditions.
The committee will also focus on creating grievance redressal mechanisms for both students and coaching staff, while ensuring regular inspections and strict compliance monitoring.
Sood said the proposed framework would ensure a safe, transparent, accountable and student-centric environment in coaching institutes across Delhi while promoting quality educational support services.
The minister said, “Delhi is going to be the pioneer state to frame a comprehensive guidelines for regarding functioning of coaching institutes and holistic development of students.”
Delhi hosts thousands of students every year preparing for competitive examinations. Most of these students migrate from different parts of the country and depend heavily on private coaching institutes.
The proposed policy is expected to establish uniform standards for safety, accountability and student welfare, while bringing greater regulatory oversight to a sector that has largely operated without a comprehensive framework.
