Byju’s to undertake affordability test of parents before selling courses

Byju’s has agreed to modify its refund policy and undertake an affordability evaluation of parents before offering them courses and loans, Moneycontrol reported quoting Priyank Kanoongo, the chief of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

According to Kanoongo, two company representatives from Byju’s spoke on behalf of the CEO (Byju Raveendran) and handed a letter to the NCPCR. The NCPCR will meet with Byju’s once more on Monday since the organisation for children’s rights has asked for further details and paperwork.

Kanoongo added that the NCPCR would provide them with written recommendations following the meeting on Monday.

He said that Byju’s has agreed to conduct an affordability test of parents before selling courses and loans to them. “They have agreed that they will not be selling courses to families having monthly income of less than Rs 25,000. They have also agreed to refund the full course fees to parents who would have failed the affordability test but were sold courses and loans,” Kanoongo said to Moneycontrol.

“We have also told Byju’s to conduct police verification of all the sales employees, who are directly in touch with students, kids, and parents. Now we have asked for some more documents from them, which would be presented before us on Monday. We have told them all these things verbally and will give them in writing on Monday after the meeting,” Kanoongo added.

In response to media allegations suggesting that the ed-tech firm exploits students by aggressively marketing and misrepresenting its courses, the NCPCR summoned Byju’s CEO Byju Raveendran on December 17.

Some parents in the aforementioned media story asserted that they were taken advantage of and duped, endangering their finances and future.

Raveendran was asked 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 edtech company and all other relevant documents regarding the claims made in the media report.”