Unacademy sets up a grievance redressal council

Unacademy, the online learning platform, has announced the formation of ‘Unacademy Grievance Redressal Council’ (UGRC), a unique initiative in the EdTech industry in India. The council will be chaired by Rajan Saxena, a prominent academician and a retired vice-chancellor.

UGRC will provide a three-tiered redressal system, with external independent oversight, and will be open to everyone, irrespective of whether they are paid subscribers, learners accessing Unacademy’s free content, or general users. The categories of complaints under the purview of UGRC include those related to content on the Unacademy platform, conduct of Educators, as well as consumer grievances. The initiative not just aligns with recent Government advisories, and guidelines under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, but takes it further by including non-users within its scope.

“Unacademy has always ensured it conducts business with the highest ethical standards, and in a manner that is transparent for everyone. Being in the education space, we understand the far-reaching impact we have on the nation’s progress, and so with UGRC, we aim to set the governance benchmark even higher by expanding its scope significantly. I welcome Dr. Saxena and look forward to working with him to make this a highly efficient and trust building system,” said Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO, Unacademy Group.

An internal redressal panel consisting of members from various functions, and headed by a Senior Unacademy Executive, will be set up under UGRC to decide on escalations, take remedial steps, and communicate effectively with complainants. As chairperson, Saxena would be responsible for setting the direction of UGRC, ensuring adherence to set rules, and representing UGRC in relevant forums.

Saxena is a well-known academic, writer and management expert. He is a former vice-chancellor of NMIMS (Deemed to be University), a former director of Indian Institute of Management, Indore, S.P Jain Institute of Management, and ICFAI Gurgaon. He has authored ‘Marketing Management’, which is a prescribed text on the subject in many Indian Universities. He has served on various Government committees, representing industry associations like AIMA, and FICCI. “The past few years have witnessed a phenomenal rise of online education in India, ensuring access to affordable and quality content for every learner. As the industry grows further, it is important to put in place the right governance mechanisms to safeguard stakeholder interests. With UGRC, Unacademy is setting the benchmark and taking a very forward-looking step in this direction, and I am delighted to be joining as Chair of UGRC,” said Saxena.