Why coaching centres are ticking time bombs, inspections won't defuse them

By Bharat Dogra 

Across India’s cities, coaching institutes have mushroomed at breakneck speed—not through careful planning, but through a reckless pursuit of profit. In this gold rush, safety has been the first casualty. Congested buildings, never designed for mass instruction, now pack in hundreds of students with woefully inadequate fire exits, overloaded electrical systems, and staircases that choke at the first sign of rush hour.

The tragic deaths of 15 students in Lucknow, and earlier drownings in a Delhi basement, have finally forced a belated reckoning. Delhi’s time-bound safety drive is welcome, as is the recent alarm raised by the Federation of All India Medical Associations. But these responses, however well-intentioned, remain patchwork repairs on a fundamentally broken system.

The rot is structural. Coaching hubs concentrate not just students and teachers, but hawkers, vehicles, and visiting parents into tiny, congested pockets. Buildings that were never meant for such loads now host thousands daily. Emergency exits are often an afterthought—even in high-profile, high-profit centres. When classes end, staircases turn into human stampedes waiting to happen. One look at that unruly torrent, and the question writes itself: what if a fire breaks out?

Superficial inspections cannot fix these deep-seated flaws. At best, they might seal the most dangerous basements or replace a few faulty extinguishers. At worst, powerful players will simply bribe their way past compliance. This is not a one-time inspection problem; it is a systemic failure that demands systemic reform.

Safety must become an everyday, non-negotiable part of how these institutes operate. Audits must be comprehensive, involving students, parents, teachers, safety experts, and officials alike. Worst-case scenarios cannot be brushed aside. Once improvements are identified, their implementation must be monitored continuously—not just on paper, but on the ground.

Parent-teacher meetings should routinely place safety on the agenda. Students and staff must be empowered to report lapses without fear, and management must act swiftly. Where they do not, government authorities must step in with prompt, adequate, and corruption-free response mechanisms.

We cannot afford to treat student safety as a seasonal headline. Every young life in these overcrowded classrooms deserves more than a hurried inspection and a forgotten promise. The time for half-measures is over. The time for a permanent culture of safety is now.

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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children and Planet in Peril. Website: bharatdogra.in. YouTube: Bharat Dogra | Save Earth Campaign