New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena Wednesday formed a committee headed by the chief secretary to frame guidelines to regulate coaching centres in the city and redress issues faced by students, Raj Niwas officials said.
The move comes in the wake of a tragedy that claimed the lives of three civil services aspirants in a flooded basement library of Rau's IAS coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar. Saxena directed for various steps after a meeting on Tuesday with student representatives, managements of over 20 coaching centres, senior Delhi government officials and DDA vice chairman.
At the request of the LG, the federation of coaching institutes in the city agreed to offer a fair compensation to the families of the three students who drowned in the basement of the coaching centre that was flooded after rain on Saturday evening. The federation also offered to give discount in the fee to their enrolled students in the wake of mental agony and disruption in studies due to the incident, the officials said.
The committee formed by the LG will comprise five to six representatives of coaching institutes and students, and officials of the departments concerned. The Raj Niwas officials said the panel will comprehensively address all issues related to regulation, exorbitant rentals, fire clearances, desilting of drains and other immediate needs of students.
The panel shall prepare a long-term as well as a short-term action plan for gradually shifting the coaching institutes from various locations to a well-planned area in Narela and Rohini, they said. The chief secretary will take up the matter of formulation of guidelines/regulatory framework for coaching institutions and tuition classes, in line with the guidelines framed by the Centre, with the Delhi education minister, the officials said.
The LG has also directed the police commissioner to crack down on property owners charging exorbitant rentals from students. According to the officials, Saxena also issued orders to create a portal with Aadhaar-based log-in credentials for all coaching institutes and students enrolled there. About 90 per cent libraries for students in the Old Rajinder Nagr area were being run "illegally" in the basements and the role of MCD engineers and officials of Delhi Fire Service as also that of the local police came under scanner, they said.
DDA vice chairman offered that a coaching hub can be established by the agency at various locations like Narela and Rohini which would also have accommodation facility. Most institutes agreed upon the need for such a hub and expressed their willingness to move there, the officials said.
The student representatives shared their plight with the LG complaining of exploitation like being charged Rs 24 per unit of electricity by their landlords. Cramped accommodation and teaching facilities, non-existence of any grievance redressal mechanism, lack of basic facilities at coaching centres and difficulty in getting refunds were also highlighted by them, the officials said.
The LG observed that the coaching institutes running in various parts of Delhi such as Old Rajinder Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, Ber Sarai, Kalu Sarai have become "ghettos". Any coaching institute running library or teaching facility in the basement would be sealed immediately. It was agreed that as a short-term measure, the coaching institutes, especially the larger ones, would assist the students by providing them spaces as reading rooms on other floors of their buildings, officials said.
It was also directed by the LG that the MCD will create online application facility for fire clearance to coaching institutes and commissioner of the civic body may convene a meeting of the fire department to clarify the regulatory framework of fire clearances and building byelaws. The police commissioner will ensure sensitisation programme for all beat constables and station house officers (SHOs) so as to provide sympathetic and proactive support to the students as and when required, the officials added.
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