Bill to address student suicides to be tabled in Rajasthan Assembly today
Jaipur: Two significant bills, including one on preventing suicides among coaching students by regulating the centres, will be tabled on Wednesday in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Premchand Bairwa will introduce the Rajasthan Coaching Centre (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025 in the Assembly.
This bill aims to regulate coaching centres and ensure student well-being.
Key provisions of the bill include: coaching centres with 50 or more students will be required to register under the new law; the Rajasthan Coaching Institute Control and Regulation Authority will be formed which will be chaired by the Secretary-in-charge of the Higher Education Department.
To enhance oversight and student support, a state-level portal and helpline for counselling will be created.
Coaching centres will no longer be allowed to charge arbitrary fees and must provide a stress-free environment for students.
Provisions will be made for refunding fees to students who discontinue their coaching.
Violations of the rules could result in heavy fines, cancellation of recognition, and even confiscation of coaching centre property under the Land Revenue Act.
This bill follows a Rajasthan High Court directive urging the government to address the rising suicides among coaching students.
The state cabinet approved the bill on March 8, calling it a welfare measure for the students.
Apart from tabling the bill on the coaching institutes, the Rajasthan Groundwater Management Authority Bill is likely to be passed after debate. This bill aims to regulate groundwater extraction across the state to ensure sustainable use. Commercial and industrial users will be required to pay charges based on the amount of water extracted.
Key provisions of the bill are — Extraction in over-exploited dark zone areas will be banned; and unauthorised extraction from these zones will result in six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh; agricultural water use will remain unrestricted.
Initially, the bill included restrictions on farmers, but after opposition, the Select Committee removed these provisions.
The bill will establish the Rajasthan Groundwater Conservation and Management Authority to oversee water extraction, regulate tubewell digging in dark zones, and determine tariffs for non-agricultural water use.
The authority will consist of a chairman, members, and two MLAs, who were not part of the original bill but have been included in the revised version.