Education Minister Ashish Sood on Thursday said the government will conduct inspections of coaching centres to ensure compliance with fire safety measures and building regulations, warning that those found flouting norms will be sealed.

He said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been chosen as the nodal agency and orders have been issued to conduct fire audits and safety inspections for all coaching centres. “There are approximately 923 coaching centres in Delhi. We have already called a meeting of the committee formed to prepare regulations for these coaching centres, which were established based on the Justice Gauba Committee’s recommendations,” Mr. Sood said. The recommendations cover structural safety, quality standards, qualifications of teachers, operational norms and guidelines related to advertisements by coaching institutes.

One-month deadline

The Minister said authorities would ensure that coaching classes are conducted only at locations permitted under safety regulations. Mr. Sood chaired a meeting with officials from multiple government agencies on Wednesday and directed them to conduct the checks on coaching hubs such as Mukherjee Nagar, Rajender Nagar, and Katwaria Sarai within a month. His remarks came in the wake of a fire that engulfed a building in the Aliganj area of Lucknow on June 22, claiming 15 lives.

Earlier this month, Mr. Sood had said Delhi will soon get a regulatory framework for the functioning of coaching institutes to address issues such as student safety, fee structure, and infrastructural standards, among other issues. This decision came in the wake of administrative reviews after a flooding incident in the basement of a UPSC coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar in 2024 killed three students and left many others trapped.

Commenting on the inclusion of a section on the Emergency in the National Council of Educational Research and Training textbooks, Mr. Sood said students should know about the alleged excesses committed during that period. “The younger generation should understand the sacrifices made by previous generations to safeguard freedom of expression and democratic rights,” the Minister said.

(With inputs from PTI)