Edu Ministry cautions against ed-tech firms

The Education Ministry Thursday issued an elaborate advisory to parents and students dealing with ed-tech firms asking them, among other things, to exercise caution while making payments. 

The advisory asks them to avoid using the automatic debit option for payment of subscription fee. 

“It has come to the notice of the Department of School Education and Literacy that some ed-tech companies are luring parents in the garb of offering free services and getting the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) mandate signed or activating the Auto-debit feature, especially targeting the vulnerable families,” the ministry said in a statement. Given the pervasive impact of technology in education, many ed-tech companies have started offering courses, tutorials, coaching for competitive and other exams in an online mode, the ministry said. 

The Ministry said the parents, students and all stakeholders in school education have to be careful while deciding on opting for online content and coaching being offered by a host of Ed-tech companies. It also advised the users to ask for a tax invoice statement for the purchase of educational devices loaded with contents/app purchase/pendrive learning.