Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Maharashtra Drafts Strict Law to Regulate Coaching Centres
Maharashtra wants to create strict rules for coaching centres.
The rules would cover centres teaching more than 25 students.
Coaching centres could not run together with schools using the dummy-school model.
They also could not operate in basements.
Centres would need to register and follow safety and student-care requirements.
They would have to limit teaching time, give weekly breaks and offer counselling.
Students leaving a course would receive refunds for unused services.
Centres breaking serious rules could face fines of up to Rs 50 lakh or be shut down.
Maharashtra’s draft Bill would regulate every coaching centre enrolling more than 25 students.
It would ban integrated coaching with schools, basement classes and hiring people charged with cognizable offences.
Centres would need registration, safety certificates, CCTV retention and compliance with student-welfare rules.
Proposed penalties range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, with possible suspension, closure or deregistration.
The draft follows the NEET-UG 2026 paper-leak investigation and is open to public suggestions until 6 pm on September 4.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government’s School Education and Sports Department proposed the rules for private coaching centres.
- What
- It released the draft Maharashtra Private Coaching Centers (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2026.
- When
- The draft was released three months after the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak; public suggestions and objections are invited until 6 pm on September 4.
- Where
- The proposed law would apply across Maharashtra, including coaching hubs such as Latur and Pune.
- Why
- The Bill seeks to regulate the coaching sector after a paper-leak investigation placed Maharashtra’s coaching industry under scrutiny.
- Coverage threshold
- Coaching or tuition centres teaching more than 25 students
- Registration
- Existing centres would have six months to register; registration would remain valid for three years
- Structural bans
- The draft prohibits school-coaching integration and coaching classes operating from basements
- Student protections
- Weekly days off, a five-hour daily teaching limit, counselling and refunds for unused course, hostel and mess fees
- Safety requirements
- Centres would need fire and building safety certificates and retain at least one month of CCTV footage
- Penalties
- Fines would range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, with possible suspension, closure or deregistration
- Minimum enrolment age
- Children below 13 could not be enrolled, although the Centre’s 2024 guidelines prescribe a minimum age of 16