The union education ministry has issued an advisory to parents registering with the ed-tech platforms warning them to look out for red flags. This comes days after MP Karti Chidambaram sought that the government regulate the rapidly flourishing sector.

In an infographic warning, the ministry of education has warned parents to look out for scam alerts and follow reviews by fellow parents before subscribing to any of the platforms.

The advisory, ‘Beware of opting for online classes’ enlists Dos and don’ts for parents to follow while choosing to enrol their child into one.

One of the pertinent issues, against which several parents have also complained on social media and sought legal help has been the fact that they were unable to opt-out of auto-debit options for plans on the ed-tech platforms. An advisory has been issued pointing at this as well.

Parents have been asked to seek a tax invoice when or ensuring that there is a statement of purchase for each transaction made and also record evidence in case there are spam calls or forced signups.

Advises can be sought from other parents who have subscribed for content or lessons from the same platform, reviews could be considered and background checks must be conducted to ensure quality education is delivered to students.

A warning has been sounded not to avoid taking advertisements at their face value. Among what must be avoided is going by advertisements or ‘success stories’ shared on the platforms itself to woo parents.

In a letter addressed to union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Karti Chidambaram had said, “These companies deliberately employ predatory marketing practices that often prey upon underprivileged parents by force-selling those courses far out of their purchasing power under false pretences and then signing them up for loans without knowledge or consent. This practice is in fact so thoroughly ingrained in certain companies’ practices that they have partnered up with lending companies to push unsuspecting parents to debt traps. Their marketing tactics include making children look bad in front of their parents by asking intentionally tricky questions and drilling into parents the idea that their child will get nowhere without the help of these companies and their courses. These companies cannot be allowed to hound parents and destroy children’s confidence in the name of marketing. Regulations ensuring EdTech companies adhere to an ethical advertising code is the need of the hour.”

The advisory has asked parents to refrain from sharing personal data, installing any applications without verification or sign up for loans, the full details of which they are unaware of.  

Also read: Regulate Ed-Tech sector, do quality control: MP Karti Chidambaram