BYJU's CEO summoned by child rights body NCPCR over malpractice allegations
The summons come days after a media report said the ed-tech company is pushing households to take heavy debts and exploiting students
The NCPCR also warned that if BYJU’s CEO fails to comply with the order, he will be subjected to the consequences of non-attendance
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has on Friday summoned
edtech firm BYJU's CEO, Byju Raveendran, to appear in person before the Commission over alleged malpractice of hard selling and mis-selling of its courses for students.
The summons come days after the child rights body took cognizance of a media report alleging the ed-tech company is pushing households to take heavy debts and exploiting students.
BYJU's is facing a range of complaints on social media platforms and consumer websites from customers who say they were exploited and deceived, putting their savings and futures in jeopardy, reported Reuters.
Observing that BYJU's is indulging in malpractices to lure parents and children to enter into loan-based agreements, thereby exploiting them, Byju Raveendran has been asked to appear in person before the NCPCR on December 23.
On December 23, Raveendran will be required to produce “details of all the courses run by BYJU’s for children, the structure of these courses and the fees details, the number of students currently enrolled in each course, the refund policy of BYJU’s, the legal documents regarding the recognition of BYJU’s as a valid ed-tech company and all other relevant documents regarding the claims made in the media report”. He will also have to explain the discrepancies in relation to the said matter.
"The news article also claims that the edtech platform has been receiving many complaints from the parents of children but had not been doing anything about it," the NCPCR letter stated.
The NCPCR also warned that if BYJU’s CEO fails to comply with the order, he will be subjected to the consequences of non-attendance.
A BYJU's spokesperson confirmed the development and said: "We have received the summons yesterday. We are compiling a transparent response based on facts to address the unsubstantiated complaints. We will clarify our position before the commission if required."
For Bengaluru-based BYJU's, the COVID-19 pandemic proved a boon as schools shut and students turned to online learning, spurring it to go on a buyout spree of smaller companies and attract major investments from around the world.
But its success began to wane as children went back to their classrooms and the global economic outlook turned gloomy.
Last valued at $22 billion, BYJU's reported a loss of Rs 4,564 crore in September for the 2021 fiscal year, and revenue fell 3%.
Published on: Dec 16, 2022, 10:15 PM IST