The three ministries are working collectively to develop a coverage to control ed-tech firms, a few of which have been discovered “exploiting” college students and fogeys in current days, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan mentioned on Monday. mentioned.
Pradhan introduced this whereas launching free coupons for college kids from socially and economically deprived backgrounds wishing to enroll in varied programs with the ed-tech platform. This initiative is run by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Pradhan insisted that the federal government was not going to impose any restrictions on the businesses however wouldn’t tolerate any form of exploitation. “We have obtained some stories within the current previous that some ed-tech firms are exploiting college students in distant areas. Those who enroll themselves by paying are free to take action, however nobody must be lured by maintaining them in the dead of night.
“I have directed the ministries of school, higher education and skills to issue advisories. We are also in touch with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Law to find out how to formulate a common policy on this (ed-tech sector),” Pradhan mentioned.
Underlining that “data is the new oil”, the minister mentioned that firms working in associated sectors must be extra revolutionary quite than exploitative. Appealing to ed-tech firms to behave responsibly, he mentioned that the federal government desires these firms to flourish.
On 23 December, the Ministry of Education had issued an advisory on the have to be vigilant when coping with ed-tech firms and particularly their apparently free providers.
“It has come to the notice of the Department of School Education and Literacy that some ed-tech companies are luring parents in the guise of offering free services and signing the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) mandate or activating the auto-debit facility, Especially targeting vulnerable families,” the advisory mentioned.
Pointing out that ed-tech firms have registered a speedy improve within the enrollment of scholars and academics within the current previous, the federal government has suggested firms to be cautious of the claims made with respect to the providers they supply via advisory. additionally instructed.
“It is very clear that ed-tech companies that can be considered as e-commerce entities will have to comply with the rules to prevent any untoward liability in future and a dedicated mechanism is required to be set up to check compliance with the law. is required,” it had mentioned.
The recommendation got here days after Congress MP Karti Chidambaram raised the difficulty of those firms allegedly concerned in “predatory marketing practices” through the winter session of Parliament. He had additionally flagged the matter in a letter to Pradhan on December 14.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
