Flouting deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi’s order issued two days ago, several private coaching centres in the city continue to hold classes between 8am and 3pm. Though the order was issued with immediate effect under Section 144 of the CrPC, many heads of coaching institutes have claimed that no official communication has been sent to them. “So far, we have not received any communication about not conducting classes between 8am and 3pm. Once we receive any such directions, we will change the timings accordingly,” said an owner of a coaching institute in Sector 20. [related-post] According to the orders issued by the office of DC Ajit Balaji Joshi, all coaching centres in Chandigarh have been restricted from conducting classes from 8am to 3pm in an attempt to limit student absenteeism from classrooms. The order, which came into effect from May 26, has been enforced for a period of 60 days. According to the directives, students who have already appeared for the final examinations or have passed out of schools have been exempted. In February 2015, similar orders were issued by the then DC Mohammed Shayin in order to regularise attendance of students in schools. However, after he was repatriated, the issued order had failed to carry forward. Even as coaching centres in the city continue to flout the DC’s order, officials from the education department have also stated that no official communication has been sent to their office. “Any course of action against coaching centres that continue to operate during the day will be taken after we receive directions from the office of the DC,” said Director School Education Rubinderjit Singh Brar. According to the information from the DC’s office, surprise checks are however likely to be conducted by SDMs, and action will be initiated against coaching centres found guilty of flouting the DC’s order. Earlier this month, members from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights visited Chandigarh to take stock of the coaching centres functioning in the city in view of the increasing number of student suicides in Kota, the hub of coaching institutes in India. Several checks and inspections of coaching institutes were also conducted by the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR) and it was highlighted that coaching centres were treating students as ‘customers’ and ‘business clients’. “It has been observed that coaching centres have begun running as mere businesses and the interest of students is being neglected. Classes are also overcrowded and exorbitant amount of fees is being charged from the students. In such circumstances, it is important to regularise the way in which coaching centres are being run in the city,” an official from CCPCR said. Ravinder Dhaka, the owner of a coaching institute in Sector 34, said: “It’s not all that negative as is being portrayed. There are several coaching centres that pay individual attention to students and help them in securing better marks. Restricting the timings of coaching centres is likely to adversely affect these students who benefit from coaching classes.”
