Rude staff, denied refunds, canceled lectures... complaints against BYJU's on rise; 60% of parents seek refunds [details]

This is not the first time that BYJU's Tuition Centre has come into news for all the wrong reasons. From allegations of unethical practices and charges of financial fraud to conned parents and abused workforce, they have all been associated with the ed-tech company that has LionelMessi and Shah Rukh Khan on board as its brand ambassador.

Recently, as per an expose by Moneycontrol, Byju's Tuition Centre is now grappling with a staggeringly large number of dissatisfied parents. More than half, nearly 60% of Byju's Tuition Centre customers have reportedly requested refunds in the last two years. High level of refund requests only point to one factor, that is a large portion of parents and students are not satisfied with the quality of education imparted and format of courses offered by the company.

As per the data obtained by MoneyControl, between November 9, 2021 and July 11, 2023, a total of 43,625 refund requests were officially submitted to BYJU's tuition centres. Of these requests, the company processed 41,198 requests. Statistically speaking, till date BYJU's has sold nearly 75,000 tuition centre subscriptions. When contacted, the company spokesperson denied the allegations, calling the numbers baseless, reports MoneyControl, adding that the spokesperson declined to provide actual numbers to rebut the accuracy of the data.

High refund requests directly point to unsatisfied students and parents with the quality and format of the courses offered. In the report, some of the parents come forward to share their personal experiences with the company. Allegations of falsified attendance records, insufficient communication regarding cancellations and refunds, compromised quality of lectures and disrespectful staff, all raised their ugly head.

Similar revelations, different year, no comment from company

An ed-tech startup, only last year, BYJU's faced shocking allegations by its workforce wherein some of the former employees shared horror stories of how the gullible parents are conned, and once the payments have been made, they are blocked. As per last year's detailed report in The Morning Context and hundreds of social media posts, one of the salesperson shares from personal experience, "This particular parent in her late thirties was uneducated and worked in the informal sector, earning around Rs 300-400 daily. Her child was in high school then. The sale was easy and so was the loan process. Everyone was happy until one day the loan installment was debited from the parent's account. She realised she couldn't afford it. She didn't know how to cancel the product either. So she called up asking for a refund. I assured her that I would look into the matter. But in reality, I had no power. When I went to the manager, he told me to block the parent's number and move onto the next sale." No one from the company issued a statement on the allegations last year. Even IBTimes reached out to BYJU's, there was not a word.

But how did the startup reach till here?

To have one of the biggest B-town stars telling viewers in one of the commercials, "Leave your child at BYJU's tuition centre and leave the rest to us," is not a small feat. A company that has consistently garnered negative reviews, press and controversies, has done well and how. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company's founder Byju Raveendran wealth stands at $3.3 billion as per Hurun Global Rich List released this year. But how long can a business model allegedly founded on exploitation of workforce, unethical business practices and disgruntled customers last this long?

India is a country of poor workforce, uneducated and gullible parents with big dreams for their children's future. The rampant tuition culture, working parents with hardly the time for research, and focus on remote learning have all further led to its sudden rise in a short time.