A new academic year is nearly upon us, and students are already looking up coaching classes that can help them crack entrance exams. But, as a report in this paper highlighted yesterday, many of these institutes attempted to woo students with misleading ads, and were even pulled up by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

Some institutes claimed that their students had secured top ranks, even displaying their photographs and scores prominently in the adverts. Others claimed they had teachers who went to Ivy League universities (Harvard) or received major grants, like the Fulbright scholarship. However, when approached by ASCI, they were unable to substantiate any of this.