Kerala Consumer Forum upholds student’s rights: Institutes can’t hold midway fees

A recent judgment by a consumer forum in Kerala emphasized that coaching institutes do not possess the right to retain fees from students who opt to discontinue a course midway due to dissatisfaction with the services provided by such institutes.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Ernakulam expressed concerns regarding unscrupulous coaching institutes engaging in unethical practices and exploiting students and their families.
A bench of President DB Binu and members V Ramachandran and Sreevidhia TN, underscored the importance of ensuring fairness and preventing these institutions from imposing unfair terms and conditions on consumers in the education sector.
“In the field of education, while many coaching institutions offer valuable services to prepare students for higher education, there unfortunately exists a presence of unscrupulous coaching institutions engaging in unethical practices, exploiting students and their families. These institutions should not have the right to retain the fees of students who choose to leave a course midway due to dissatisfaction with the services provided. It is essential to ensure fairness and prevent these institutions from imposing unfair terms and conditions. Protecting consumers, particularly in the education sector, is of utmost importance to guarantee that students and parents are treated with the respect and honesty they deserve,” stated the bench.
The consumer forum was hearing a case filed by a former student (complainant) of VLCC Institute in Kochi, a coaching institute for weight loss and beauty solutions.
The complainant asserted that she had enrolled in a cosmetology course in January 2021, followed by advanced courses in March 2021 at the institute.
Due to COVID-19, physical classes were disrupted, and the complainant, after testing positive, continued with online classes until they were also discontinued.She claimed that the institute persuaded her to enroll in additional courses but failed to conduct classes for them despite collecting fees. Furthermore, when she requested a refund of the fees, the institute suggested buying VLCC products instead.