Govt warns ed-tech firms against unfair trade practices

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday warned the ed-tech companies against unfair trade practices.

During a meeting held with self-regulatory body India Edtech Consortium (IEC), Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said if self-regulation does not curb the unfair trade practices, then stringent guidelines would be formulated for ensuring transparency. Issues pertaining to unfair trade practices and misleading advertisement for the Indian Edtech Sector figured during the meeting prominently.

The Secretary discussed ways to better manage consumer interests across India’s Edtech ecosystem.

IEC comprises Indian start-ups and represents 95% of the Indian learner community. As part of the agenda, the members discussed the need to further enhance the Indian EdTech ecosystem to better safeguard consumer interests, through seamless, transparent, and feasible offerings for consumers.

The Secretary pointed out that it has been reported that certain advertisements and practices do not seem to conform to prevalent guidelines and existing regulations. ‘’Therefore, it’s imperative to work together to maintain robust checkpoints that align with the consumers’ interests. The problem of increasing fake reviews was also a major point of concern which needed to be contained. Notably, a recent report by ASCI revealed that the education category is the largest violator of advertising code in 2021-22,’’ an official statement said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Internet and Mobile Association of India along with IEC member firms including upGrad, BYJU’S, Unacademy, Vedantu, Great Learning, WhiteHat Jr. and Sunstone.