DM orders closure of 124 coaching centres in Patna

Patna: The Patna District Administration on Friday ordered the closure of 124 coaching centres in the state capital after finding them ineligible for registration, an official said.

The district administration had reviewed 138 recent applications for registration and rejected 14 of them for being non-functional. Consequently, closure orders were issued to 124 coaching centres deemed ineligible, Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told PTI.

This decision comes in the wake of the death of three civil service aspirants at a coaching institute in Delhi recently.

Following the tragedy, Patna's district administration initiated an inspection drive, directing officials to verify the documentation of all coaching centres in their areas. Owners of unregistered centres were also instructed to secure proper registration.

The closure orders were issued during a meeting of the district coaching institute registration committee, chaired by the DM on Friday. The DM said a list of the 124 ineligible centres has been distributed to officials concerned, who have been instructed to ensure these institutes are shut down.

The applications for registration were rejected on several grounds, including inadequate infrastructure, as per the Bihar Coaching Institute (Control and Regulation) Act, 2010.

Of the 936 applications received in the past 10 days, 413 have been processed and approved. The remaining 523 applications are under review, with 138 already deemed ineligible, the DM said.

The ongoing inspection includes verifying that coaching centres possess necessary permissions and no-objection certificates.

Officials have been instructed to seal centres operating from basements, as this violates current regulations, he said.

Additionally, inspections revealed many centres are overcrowded and operating in congested areas. Coaching centres are required to provide at least one square-metre per student and maintain adequate infrastructure relative to their student numbers.