Appearing at the summon by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, officials from ed-tech giant Byju’s said that they will now have an affordability test for prospective parents, and will not offer loans to people who earn less than Rs 25,000 per month. The child rights body had asked Byju’s to appear before it after complaints from parents and students that the education company was selling exorbitant courses where people were losing savings.
On Friday, two officials from the company appeared before the child rights body, and said that they will tweak their policies — first, they will bring in an affordability test for parents to be allowed to take loans, and come up with a refund policy.
NCPCR chief Priyank Kanungo said that while they welcome the affordability test, in the case of fees and loans, however, the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines must be followed. “We are sure about our position on fees – that a year’s tuition fees cannot be taken in advance. If a child or the parents are unhappy with the courses, then they are stuck,” he said.
The child rights body has also insisted on the police verification of all staff members. They have also asked that a grievance officer be appointed who is dedicated to hearing complaint of parents and students, and that no marketing calls can be made without the informed consent of the child enrolled with the course or their parents.
Kanungo said that while they were pleased with the “positive response” of the company, the conversation over the fee structure is an ongoing one, and the company is set to appear before the NCPCR on Monday or Tuesday.
NCPCR had summoned Byju’s, asking them to furnish details of all their courses, fee and course structures, the number of students, the refund policy, and other legal documents, saying that the company is “indulging in malpractices to lure parents to buy their courses”.
On Wednesday, responding to these complaints, Byju’s sent out a response denying the reports, and said it relies on app users, walk-ins and incoming requests for consultation.
“Byju’s strongly denies the allegation that it purchases students' databases. We categorically state that we have never bought any database," the company said on Wednesday.