Patna, Dec. 7: Education minister Ashok Choudhary has asked all coaching institutes to register with the government under the Bihar Coaching Institute (Control and Regulation) Act, 2010, by January 31, or face action.

The education department's directive has come in to keep a tab on mushrooming coaching institutes in Bihar, especially Patna.

As per rough estimates, there are around 10,000 coaching institutes in Bihar, 1,000 of them in Patna alone.

The institutes are supposed to register with the district administration of the place concerned.

But just around 300 coaching institutes in the city are registered.

The coaching Act of 2010, introduced by the state government, says a student studying in a coaching centre should get 1 sqm area for studies, first aid facility, proper lighting, a cycle stand, washroom and drinking water facility. The centre should also have fire-fighting equipment and the institute should inform students about the educational qualifications of its teachers.

A reality check of institutes at Bazaar Samiti, which has more than 200 coaching institutes, showed that many coaching institutes fail to comply with many provisions of the Act.

The coaching Act, was introduced in 2010, after the security guard of a coaching institute at Bhikna Pahari in Patna killed two students, sparking widespread protests by various students' organisations in the city. Following pressure from the state government and the Patna district administration, many institutes went for registration for a period of three years. But many of these coaching centres have not renewed their registration after expiry of the three-year period.

Chauhan Chemistry, an engineering and medical coaching institute at Bazaar Samiti, had registered in October 2012, but its validity ended a year ago (registration is for a period of three years).

An official of the institute, who refused to disclose his identity, said: "Our registration ended last year. We are planning for re-registration soon. Now, that the government directive is here, we will have to comply with it."

As per government registration norms, the coaching institute also needs to disclose the number of students studying in the institute, number of classes and number of students per class. "The government's registration directive will be of great help to students," said Nishant Kumar, student of a reputed physics-coaching centre in the city.

"Our classroom is overcrowded with over 250 students studying in one class. Many a times the teacher is inaudible even though she uses a mike." Many students even complained about no first-aid kit or fire-fighting equipment at the institutes. Some institutes, too, welcomed the government's directive, saying it would benefit students the most.

"The government directive is a good step, as it will bring transparency in the coaching industry," said A.K. Keshri, who runs Om Biology Classes.

"It will keep a tab on institutes that cheat students by making tall promises which are not always kept. Also, many institutes don't follow the syllabus. Teachers waste over six months in just teaching the fundamentals. They then complete the syllabus haphazardly in the next one-and-a-half year. Most of the times, only 80-90 per cent of the syllabus is covered, leaving the students all lost as they have not even grasped what was taught."

The Bihar Coaching Institute (Control and Regulation) Act, 2010, was introduced in 2010 but there were serious bottlenecks in its implementation in the state. "Though the Act was introduced in 2010, it wasn't strictly followed," education minister Ashok Choudhary said.

"The government has now set a January 31 deadline, failing which action will be initiated against coaching centres. Defaulters will be fined or even shut down if required."

The growth in tutorial business can be gauged from the fact that advertisement hoardings of coaching institutes dot every important road and roundabout in the city.

The promotions are often very lucrative, screaming things like "100 per cent success guaranteed in engineering and medical examinations" or "15 day crash course in reasoning".