Pune: Professional Teachers’ Association of Maharashtra on Tuesday demanded changes in the proposed Maharashtra Private Coaching Centres Registration and Regulation Act.They demanded that the state govt categorise coaching classes according to the region, student size and the coaching provided, raise the proposed registration threshold for coaching classes to more than 100 students so that home tutors and small coaching classes are protected, withdraw the blanket ban on coaching for children below 13 years, and protect parents’ right to decide their children’s education.The association spoke to reporters in the city. They also proposed a Coaching Classes Self-Regulatory Council to examine complaints and facilitate mediation before formal govt action, except in serious or urgent cases.The association’s president Prashant Kulkarni said, “The current draft gives a threshold of 25 students. It needs to be increased to more than 100 students per branch to protect home tutors and very small coaching institutions from an unnecessarily complex regulatory framework. Secondly, it is the parents’ prerogative where they want their child to study and what. If a parent wants his child to get age-appropriate remedial education, foundational skill development, and preparation for competitive exams like Olympiads, govt should not curb their rights.”Kulkarni said that the current refund mandates described in the draft are unfair because they do not account for sunk costs already incurred by the institution, such as teacher salaries, infrastructure, and digital platform maintenance.“We propose establishment of a Coaching Classes Self-Regulatory Council with representation from govt officials, legal experts, and education specialists to facilitate mediation and corrective action before govt initiates formal legal proceedings, to prevent a licence raj,” he said.Durgesh Mangeshkar, an association member, said that there should not be a blanket rule. “A detailed categorization is important. A coaching class teaching English or maths to 30 Std XI students at a home in rural Maharashtra cannot have the same rules as the one coaching students to crack UPSC in a city. The money is different, the scope is different, the size is different. So there should be category-appropriate rule,” he said.They added that there was a lack of clearly defined inspection criteria and transparent appellate mechanisms and sought changes in the administrative actions and graded penalties proportionate to the nature of any violation instead of a fixed penalty for all rules.They also alleged that despite approaching govt four times, they were not called for meetings before deciding the draft.“We have begun preparing a document with clause-by-clause objections to the proposed legislation along with amendments. We want govt to speak with us before finalising the draft. If our demands are ignored, we will shut down our services and protest after Ganeshotsav,” Kulkarni said.
