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⚖️ Mentor Policy

Mentor Terms & Conditions

Standard operating policies, professional conduct requirements, and commercial terms for registered Edsteps Mentors.

Effective: 12 June 2026
Last Updated: 12 June 2026
Version 1.0
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Edsteps provides a platform connecting mentors with students seeking educational and career guidance. By registering as a mentor on Edsteps, you agree to comply with and be bound by the operating policies, code of conduct, and legal terms detailed in this document.

📋Eligibility & Relationship

Eligibility Requirements

To register and list yourself as a mentor on the platform, you represent and warrant that:

  • You are at least 18 years of age.
  • All registration information provided by you is true, accurate, and complete.
  • You possess the qualifications, experience, knowledge, or expertise represented on your public profile.
  • You have full legal authority to enter into these Terms and perform services.
  • You are not prohibited from providing mentorship services under any applicable laws.
  • You will provide credential verification documents to Edsteps at any time upon request.
Independent Contractor Status

Mentors are independent service providers contracting with Edsteps. Nothing contained in these Terms shall be construed to create an employment, partnership, agency, joint venture, representative, or fiduciary relationship between the parties.

As independent contractors, mentors are not employees of Edsteps and are not entitled to employment benefits, including but not limited to health insurance, gratuity, paid leave, provident fund contributions, stock options, or worker's compensation.

🎓Services & Conduct

Approved Mentorship Services

Mentors may offer and perform guidance services on the platform, which include:

  • Career Guidance and Industry Insights
  • Study Abroad Guidance and University Insights
  • Application reviews, including Statement of Purpose (SOP) and CV/Resume feedback
  • Mock interviews and educational preparation support
  • Other service categories explicitly approved by Edsteps from time to time.
Professional Code of Conduct

To ensure quality guidance, mentors must strictly adhere to the following professional rules:

  • Act professionally, respectfully, and ethically during all sessions and chats.
  • Provide honest and accurate information regarding qualifications and capabilities.
  • Attend all confirmed, scheduled 1:1 sessions on time.
  • Comply fully with platform policies and local applicable laws.
  • Do not harass, threaten, abuse, or discriminate against any platform user.
  • Do not make false promises or guarantees regarding university admission, visas, scholarships, jobs, salaries, or specific career outcomes.

🔒Student Protection & Non-Circumvention

Students introduced to you through Edsteps are users of the platform. You agree that all commercial relationships with these students must go through Edsteps.

Circumvention Prohibitions
  • Do not solicit students away from Edsteps for direct private sessions.
  • Do not request or accept direct payments from students outside the platform.
  • Do not establish private, direct commercial agreements with users introduced by Edsteps.
  • Do not divert platform users to personal businesses, external websites, or competitor platforms.
  • Do not encourage students to discontinue using Edsteps for mentorship services.

These restrictions remain active during the mentor's listing on the platform and for a period of twelve (12) months following the last session/interaction with the student through the platform. Edsteps reserves the right to recover any lost commissions, legal costs, and business damages resulting from circumvention violations.

Communication Contact Restrictions

Mentors are strictly prohibited from soliciting, requesting, or sharing personal contact information to bypass the platform's messaging systems. This includes:

  • Personal phone numbers or WhatsApp details
  • Personal email addresses
  • LinkedIn profiles or personal website URLs
  • Telegram IDs, social media handles, or other external messaging accounts

🛡Data & Confidentiality

Student Data Protection

Mentors must respect student confidentiality and treat all student details as strictly confidential data. You must not:

  • Download, export, or print student profiles, CVs, or document contents.
  • Store student data outside the platform environment (e.g. on personal drives or devices).
  • Share, disclose, or distribute student information with any third party.
  • Sell or monetize student information.
  • Use student details for personal marketing, advertising, or businesses.
Confidentiality Obligations

You shall maintain strict confidentiality regarding all proprietary information. This includes details about platform algorithms, AI tools, pricing schemes, commercial models, internal communication systems, backend processes, and other mentors. Confidentiality obligations survive any termination of these Terms.

⚖️Intellectual Property

Platform IP Rights

All platform technology, source code, systems, databases, websites, AI designs, brandings, methodologies, and materials remain the sole and exclusive property of Edsteps. Nothing in these Terms grants you any ownership or commercial licenses to the platform's intellectual property.

Content License Grant

By uploading content to the platform (including profiles, descriptions, videos, testimonials, educational files, and reviews), you grant Edsteps a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to host, display, translate, promote, distribute, and reproduce that content to operate, market, and improve the platform.

👁Monitoring & Reviews

Session Recording & Audits

Edsteps reserves the right to record, monitor, review, and investigate sessions, platform messaging, and booking records. This monitoring is carried out for quality assurance, safety, dispute resolution, compliance audits, platform protection, and mentor training. You consent to these recording practices.

Verification Audits

Edsteps may verify your credentials, employment history, qualifications, and identity at any time. Failure to cooperate or provide verified documents (degrees, passport details, certificates) will lead to immediate profile suspension.

Ratings & Reviews

Students can rate and review mentors. Edsteps may investigate negative feedback, review rating manipulations, delete abusive or fake reviews, or deactivate profiles if ratings policy violations or retaliatory actions are detected.

💳Payments & Taxes

Compensation & Payouts

Mentor payouts are governed by the specific payout structures, commissions, and rates established in the platform settings. Edsteps reserves the right to adjust commission rates, session prices, platform fees, and payment schedule structures at its sole discretion upon notice.

Tax Liability

You are solely responsible for reporting income, filing local taxes (such as GST or service tax), and paying all tax obligations arising from payouts received on Edsteps. Edsteps will not be liable for your self-employment taxes or reporting compliance.

Payouts remain subject to compliance checks. Edsteps may withhold or reverse payouts if fraud, booking manipulation, or policy violations are suspected.

🚫Account Suspension

Edsteps may immediately suspend, restrict, or terminate your mentor profile and account if you breach these Terms, or if we suspect:

  • Fraudulent activity, booking loops, or payout manipulations.
  • Serious misconduct, user harassment, or professional abuse.
  • Provision of falsified credentials, qualifications, or identification.
  • Violations of non-circumvention rules or data protection policies.
  • Security risks, database threats, or reputational damage to the platform.

📢No Guarantees

Outcome Guarantees Prohibited

As a mentor, you must never guarantee, assure, or promise specific outcomes to students, including university admission approvals, visa issues, scholarships, specific job offers, starting salaries, or career progressions. All admissions and immigration outcomes remain subject to third-party decisions.

Platform Service Disclaimer

Edsteps reserves the right to modify, restrict, update, suspend, or discontinue any feature, service category, AI tool, pricing, or visibility model at its sole discretion, without liability to you.

🤝Non-Solicitation

During your association with Edsteps and for a period of twelve (12) months following the termination of your account, you agree not to directly or indirectly solicit, recruit, hire, or induce any employees, contractors, advisors, consultants, or other mentors of Edsteps to work for a competing business.

⚖️Liability & Law

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Edsteps shall not be liable to mentors for any admissions decisions, visa outcomes, career results, lost profits, or indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from platform listing or session execution.

Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising out of your mentorship activities shall first be resolved through good-faith mutual discussions. If unresolved, disputes shall be referred to binding arbitration in Mumbai, India, in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Survival & Acceptance

Survival of Provisions

All clauses relating to confidentiality, non-circumvention, data protection, intellectual property, payout verifications, limitations of liability, non-solicitation, and dispute resolution shall survive any termination or deactivation of your account.

Acceptance of Terms

By completing registration as a mentor on Edsteps, uploading credentials, or confirming sessions, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Mentor Terms & Conditions and agree to be legally bound by them.

Need to contact Edsteps?

If you have questions regarding payment settings, student circumvention policies, or profile compliance, get in touch with our team.

Contact Support Team →