Coaching Centre Ads After the 2024 Rules: Topper Posts, Rank Claims and Consent

Coaching centres in India now advertise under two sets of rules issued in 2024. The Central Consumer Protection Authority’s Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector took effect on 13 November 2024 and cover topper ads, rank and selection claims, and student consent. Earlier, in January 2024, the Ministry of Education issued guidelines saying coaching centres shouldn’t enrol students below 16, make misleading promises or guarantee ranks. ASCI’s education advertising guidelines apply as well. This guide explains what each rule means for result posts, banners, reels and campaigns.

Important: this is a plain-language summary for marketing planning, not legal advice. Check the current text of each guideline and have campaigns reviewed by your legal adviser.

Why coaching ads are under scrutiny

For years, coaching marketing relied on a familiar formula: a wall of toppers’ photos, a headline selection percentage and a deadline that never seemed to pass. The CCPA’s guidelines were issued to stop the misleading versions of that formula, and the authority has acted on them. Media reports describe it issuing 45 notices and penalties totalling ₹61.6 lakh to coaching centres over misleading advertisements (BestMediaInfo report).

The CCPA coaching guidelines, 2024

The Central Consumer Protection Authority’s guidelines apply to every form of advertisement by anyone who provides coaching or runs a coaching centre, and to endorsers (PIB release). The main points for marketing:

No false or exaggerated claims

The guidelines target misleading claims about the courses offered, their duration, faculty credentials, fees and refund policies, the selection of candidates, ranks, success rates, job security and admissions (Lexology summary). They also address false urgency and false scarcity.

No guaranteed outcomes without substantiation

Coaching centres shouldn’t claim that their coaching guarantees ranks, high marks, job placements, promotions, admissions or salary increases unless they can substantiate it (Lexology summary).

Topper and result ads need consent and disclosure

A coaching centre must get written consent from a successful candidate before using their name, photograph or testimonial in an advertisement. It must also disclose important information prominently, such as the rank secured and details of the course the candidate took (NewsOnAir report).

In practice, a compliant result post should make clear:

• the student’s name and photo, only with written consent
• the exam and year
• the rank or result achieved
• the course the student actually took with you, such as a full-year classroom programme, an online test series or a short crash course
• whether that course was paid or free, where the guidelines require it

Penalties

Misleading advertisements fall under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The CCPA can impose penalties of up to ₹10 lakh on advertisers and endorsers, and up to ₹50 lakh for subsequent contraventions (Manorama Yearbook summary of CCPA powers).

The Ministry of Education guidelines, 2024

The Ministry of Education released Guidelines for Registration and Regulation of Coaching Centres on 18 January 2024. According to reports of the guidelines, coaching centres should not enrol students below 16 years of age or before they have completed the secondary school examination, should not make misleading promises, and should not guarantee ranks or good marks (Careers360 report; Rau’s IAS summary).

These guidelines are meant to be implemented by state governments, so how they apply in Assam depends on state action. Check the current position with your legal adviser.

What it means for marketing: don’t run enrolment ads aimed at students under 16, and don’t promise ranks or marks in any advertisement, poster, reel or WhatsApp message.

ASCI’s education advertising guidelines

ASCI’s guidelines for educational institutions, programmes and platforms apply to coaching as well as schools, colleges and edtech (ASCI guidelines PDF). Among other things, they say advertisements shouldn’t guarantee marks, jobs, admissions or salary increases, and claims of recognition or affiliation must be backed by evidence.

Common coaching ads and how to fix them

Common ad	The problem	A compliant alternative
“Guaranteed selection in NEET”	An unsubstantiated guarantee-style claim	Individual results with consent, exam, year, rank and course details
A banner of 50 topper photos with no details	Missing disclosures; consent unclear	Fewer students, each with written consent and full disclosure
A topper who only attended a two-week test series, shown as a full-course result	Misleads about the course that produced the result	State the course the student actually took
“Only 10 seats left!” every week	False scarcity	Real batch start dates and real seat availability
“Guaranteed government job”	Guaranteed outcome	Describe the course, faculty and support instead
Foundation course ads targeting 13-year-olds	Conflicts with the MoE under-16 guideline	Check the legal position; speak to parents about eligibility
Hidden refund policy	Misleading about fees and refunds	Clear fee and refund page linked from every ad

What compliant coaching marketing looks like

Compliance doesn’t make coaching ads ineffective. It shifts the focus to things students and parents can check:

1. Course pages with syllabus, batch timings, duration, faculty qualifications, mock test schedule, fees, instalments and refund policy.
2. Free lessons and doubt-clearing videos, which show teaching quality more convincingly than any claim.
3. Demo classes, promoted with real dates and followed up on WhatsApp for students who opt in.
4. Honest, consented result posts with full disclosure.
5. Parent information sessions explaining the course, fees and how progress is shared.

A pre-publication checklist for coaching ads

• [ ] No guaranteed ranks, marks, selections, jobs or admissions
• [ ] No selection percentages or guaranteed-selection claims
• [ ] Written consent on file for every student named or pictured
• [ ] Each result shows exam, year, rank and the course actually taken
• [ ] Real batch dates and seat availability, with no invented urgency
• [ ] Fees, instalments and refund policy clearly available
• [ ] No enrolment ads aimed at students under 16
• [ ] Faculty credentials accurate and verifiable
• [ ] For students under 18, parental consent for any use of their personal data
• [ ] Campaign reviewed by the centre’s legal adviser

We build coaching campaigns around these rules. See our approach to marketing for coaching institutes, and our wider work with educational institutions.

Sources

• PIB: CCPA issues guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisement in the coaching sector
• CCPA coaching sector guidelines, 2024 (Lexology)
• CCPA mandates coaching institutes to disclose student and course information (NewsOnAir)
• CCPA issues 45 notices and ₹61.6 lakh penalty to coaching centres (BestMediaInfo)
• MoE guidelines: no students below 16, no misleading promises (Careers360)
• Guidelines for regulation of coaching centres (Rau’s IAS)
• ASCI guidelines for advertising of educational institutions, programmes and platforms (PDF)
• CCPA penalty powers (Manorama Yearbook)