Consumer watchdog fines coaching centers Rs 15 lakh for misleading ads

NEW DELHI: Consumer protection regulator CCPA has imposed penalties of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh on Motion Education Pvt Ltd and Career Line Coaching (CLC), Sikar, respectively, for publishing misleading advertisements about JEE and NEET results, and unfair trade practices. In a statement, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) said the advertisements published by the two institutes concealed crucial information about courses attended by students whose success stories were featured in their promotional materials. Motion Education had advertised a 91.2% NEET qualification rate and a 51% IIT-JEE Advanced pass rate, displaying details of successful students online. CCPA’s investigation found that a majority of the featured students had enrolled in ‘I-Eklavya (Online)’ — a course offered free of cost to selected students through a test and interview process. None of the ads mentioned this. CLC had claimed ‘1650+ CLCians in MBBS, IIT & Others’ — a figure the institute described as cumulative selections since 1996, only to claim during the hearing that it referred to 2024 alone. End of Article