On March 4, 2026, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered coaching centres to withdraw advertisements that used successful APSC candidates’ names or photographs within a week and urged newly appointed officers not to permit their images for promotional gain. At face value the move targets coaching institutes’ marketing; beneath it lies a larger question about the commercialization of public exam success and the growing impression that ranks can be branded and sold.
Every year, within hours of civil service results, posters and social posts proclaim “our student” and the same rank-holder can appear in ads for multiple institutes. What should cap years of personal labour is quickly reframed as proof of a coaching brand’s method. In that narrative the candidate often disappears behind the logo, and merit begins to look like a product of marketing rather than perseverance.
For millions of aspirants in small towns and remote regions, that message matters. It makes success seem manufactured by institutes, not earned through years of disciplined study. The result: a shifting public perception where visible branding replaces invisible effort, and coaching becomes equated with necessity rather than one among many supports.
The reality of preparation is rarely glamorous. Civil services study is typically a long, lonely grind-repeated reading, rewriting notes, failed prelims and missed interview lists, all endured in cramped rented rooms. For many middle-class families, preparation is a major financial and emotional investment. When results come, that personal struggle often vanishes into a commercial narrative that credits the institute rather than the individual.
Coaching is not inherently the problem; many centres provide structure, mentorship and study material. The concern is when guidance slides into monopoly and aspiration becomes marketing. In major centres, a single course can cost between one and two lakh rupees, excluding living expenses, which shapes who can afford sustained preparation.
The ethical tension is stark. Candidates study ethics, integrity and public responsibility for the very posts they seek. Yet some newly selected officers soon allow their success to be used in promotional material, blurring lines between public achievement and private marketing. Short, polished videos of “topper talks” compress years of struggle into a few minutes of performance, reinforcing the idea that coaching is the decisive factor.
The problem has prompted regulatory attention: earlier in 2024 the Union government issued guidelines to regulate coaching centres, and the Central Consumer Protection Authority released Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements in the Coaching Sector. Assam’s directive does not ban coaching; it challenges the practice of claiming ownership over individual success and asks a simple question about credit: a rank earned through perseverance is recognition, not a commodity. It should remain so.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/opinion/story/assams-move-against-apsc-coaching-ads-raises-a-larger-question-1356944-2026-03-09?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-03-09 15:08:00
