The commission cited a media report that carried the customers’ experiences of being exploited and deceived by the unicorn’s policies
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of the Indian edtech major Byju’s, over allegations of malpractices committed by the company’s sales team.
Sources said that the body cited a media report that carried the customers’ experiences of being exploited and deceived by the unicorn’s policies.
"As the Commission has come across a news article wherein it has been pointed out that the sales team of BYJU'S is indulging in malpractices to lure parents to buy their courses for their children. lt has also been mentioned in the news report that some customers have also claimed that they were exploited and deceived, and had put their savings and futures in jeopardy," NCPCR told in a statement.
The body told Raveendran to appear in person at 2 PM on December 23. Additionally, the commission asked for all the details of courses designed for children including fee details, student numbers, refund policy, and legal documents.
“We had got this complaint before as well. This is not the first time. Last time, we had simply written to the Ministry of Education. After this, the Ministry of Education released guidelines,” Priyank Kanoongo, a member of the commission, told The Economic Times.
For the past few months, Byju’s has been witnessing major upheavals. In October, it announced its plans to rationalise the 50,000-strong employee bandwidth in a phased manner to keep the business on profitability track. The move suggested a possible termination of 2,500 employees in the coming months.
Recently, some ex and current sales persons pointed fingers at the company for its harsh working conditions. According to a Reuters report, some of them claimed that their bosses prevented them from taking lunch breaks, time off and leaving the office on time if the targets are not made. A few of them also outlined incidents of verbal and even physical abuse.
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