|
|
|
Centre pulls up edtech firms for mis-selling courses to parents, IEC responds
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
IANS | 17 Jul, 2022
After the Centre took serious note of mis-selling of courses to parents
by edtech firms including BYJU's and its group companies,
self-regulatory organisation India Edtech Consortium (IEC) on Saturday
said it is committed to protecting consumer interest and has resolved
100 per cent complaints received till June.
The Ministry
of Consumer Affairs pulled up edtech firms during a meeting with them
and IEC, according to sources, and aggressive misselling of courses to
parents was the key concern.
The IEC, which comes under the aegis
of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and has created
a two-tier grievance redressal mechanism, said that it has resolved all
complaints received until June 2022 complaints received in July were
going through active screening for faster resolutions.
"The
edtech sector is extremely dynamic in nature and therefore, to address
the rising challenges, what IEC is proactively doing will certainly
propel a stronger ecosystem in the coming times," said retd SC judge and
chairperson of Independent Grievance Redressal Board (IGRB), Dr B.S.
Chauhan.
The IEC also said that each member company has appointed
a dedicated grievance officer internally to address and assess the
problem and offer remedial action accordingly.
The IEC-member
companies are also registering at the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)
for streamlining the resolution process, it added.
"Edtech as a
strong community has been far more responsible and prompt than our
traditional counterpart in managing consumer complaints and grievances,"
said Mayank Kumar, UpGrad Co-founder and MD and Chair at IEC.
The
recent reports have said that as per the Advertising Standards Council
of India (ASCI) data, 33 per cent of complaints are filed against the
education sector.
However, the official statement by ASCI also
states that 6 per cent of the total complaints received are against the
edtech companies while the remaining 94 per cent are filed against the
traditional education system, according to the IEC.
Earlier this month, the Centre warned edtech companies against unfair trade practices.
In
a meeting with the IEC, Consumer Affairs Secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh,
said that if self-regulation does not curb unfair trade practices, then
stringent guidelines would be formulated for ensuring transparency.
The
meeting was attended by representatives of the IAMAI, along with IEC
member companies including upGrad, BYJU'S, Unacademy, Vedantu, Great
Learning, WhiteHat Jr, and Sunstone.
The IEC comprises edtech startups and represents 95 per cent of the Indian learner community.
During
the meeting, issues pertaining to unfair trade practices and misleading
advertisements for the Indian edtech sector figured prominently.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|