Coaching centre told to refund the fee of students

November 17, 2008: The Times of India 
 
NEW DELHI: West District Consumer Forum has directed a coaching centre to refund the fees paid for two years in advance by a student, who left the coaching centre midway, after finding the quality of training being imparted by the centre not up to the mark.

Sehgal School of Competition in Punjabi Bagh was asked to pay the second-year fee, totalling to Rs 18,700, back to one Dinesh Kumar, who took admission in the institute to prepare for medical entrance exams. The course was for two years 2005-2007 and Kumar had deposited the fees for the first year and two installments of the second year in advance.

However, once he started attending classes, Kumar was disappointed with the quality of teaching. He had joined the coaching centre to prepare for medicine, but faculty members were mostly teaching engineering subjects, giving preference to engineering students.

According to Kumar, individual attention too was lacking. Besides, there were less faculty members for the medical stream coaching. The complainant thought that things would improve and, therefore, paid two instalments of the second-year fee in advance in the first year itself. However, he left the institute in February 2006 due to unsatisfactory coaching.

Despite approaching the institute several times for refunding the fees paid in advance for the second year, the institute refused to do so on the ground that the fee once paid cannot be refunded under any circumstances.

Besides, the coaching institute pleaded that there was no deficiency in service on their part as alleged and that complainant’s son had voluntarily and of his own free will left the course midway. According to rules and regulations, the institute clearly stipulates that the money paid shall not be refunded and that this non-refundability clause exists in the prospectus and in the application form both.

Presiding over the Forum J P Sharma said, ¶The student was justified in leaving the coaching institute as he had only taken admission to study for the medical entrance and when he found that classes were not benefitting him towards this end, a further delay of a year would serve no purpose.¶