Pune: NEET Leak Case Raises Concerns Over Attendance Violations in Junior Colleges
Pune, 21st May 2026: The recent NEET paper leak case, which exposed alleged irregularities involving major private coaching institutes, has once again brought the functioning of the coaching industry under scrutiny. Citizens and education experts are now questioning when the government will act against the unchecked practices of coaching centres and the growing “integrated” education model that has increasingly sidelined junior colleges.
Despite years of discussion, the proposed law to regulate private coaching institutes in Maharashtra is still awaiting approval. Critics say the delay has allowed coaching institutes to continue operating without proper oversight, while students and parents continue to face mounting academic and financial pressure.
Under State Board rules, students of Classes 11 and 12 are required to maintain 75 per cent attendance in junior colleges. However, due to tie-ups between junior colleges and private coaching institutes, many students attend coaching classes instead of regular college lectures. This “integrated” system has raised concerns that several colleges are functioning only on paper, while actual teaching takes place at coaching centres.
The issue has also revived demands for mandatory biometric attendance systems in junior colleges to ensure that students attend regular classes. Although the education department has taken action against some bogus junior colleges and removed them from the admission process, experts believe the larger nexus between colleges and coaching institutes continues to exist.
Education experts have stressed that if proper guidance for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE is provided within junior colleges, students would not be forced to depend heavily on expensive private coaching institutes. They said strengthening teaching standards in colleges could reduce the financial burden on parents and save students valuable time and effort.
The draft of the Private Coaching Classes Regulation Act was prepared and submitted to the Maharashtra government in 2018 during the tenure of former education minister Vinod Tawde. In January 2024, the Central government also issued guidelines for regulating coaching institutes, and several states have since introduced their own laws. However, Maharashtra is yet to approve the proposed legislation.
Bando Pant Bhuyar, spokesperson and state vice-president of the Maharashtra Coaching Classes Apex Association, said that eight meetings regarding the draft law were held in Pune before it was submitted to the government in 2018. He alleged that the proposal has remained pending due to the state education department’s continued inaction.
