At centre of NEET leak, Maharashtra drafts law to rein in coaching centres

Maharashtra, once at the forefront of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak that exposed its coaching industry, has introduced a draft law to regulate the sector. The Maharashtra Private Coaching Centers (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2026, seeks to prohibit school-coaching integration, or integrated coaching, set a threshold of 25 students for enforcement, and ban coaching classes operating from basements.

The law also prohibits hiring anyone convicted of a cognizable offence. If enacted, this law would be among the strictest and most comprehensive in the region, surpassing those in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Assam, and Haryana.