Tuition Menace

NEITHER THE authority concerned nor the government is taking any step against this criminal practice which is ruining the basic fabric of the whole educational system ie the tuitions which has become a fashion nowadays

What is of alarm is the increasing dependence on tutoring. There could be a number of reasons for this. The increasing competitiveness, a disturbed academic schedule owing to frequent bandhs and strikes and the student’s desire to be spoon-fed. Nevertheless, the gradual degradation in the volume and content of class-room teaching is the main reason why students and their parents are looking forward to tuition as a better alternative even if they have to part with loads of money as tuition fee. A feeling of inadequacy in class-room activities - be it lectures, demonstrations or practicals, has given rise to students who feel that a detailed study of the subjects can be achieved only through tuition.

Although it is easier said than done, there is an urgent need to inject life into dull classroom teaching before schools and colleges become a grotesque appendage to the educational system. Once this is done, there will be no need for the student to be tutored. If some of them still need it for one reason or the other, there is a huge army of unemployed graduates and post-graduates who can take care of them. This will not only enable the unemployed to earn a living but also supplement what has already been taught in classrooms.

The so-called ‘talented’ teachers “who are in great demand for tuition work” can’t simultaneously undertake public employment as well as private tuitions. Private tuition imparted by serving teachers is a serious educational malpractice which deserves outright condemnation by all the right-thinking individuals, most of all by serious academicians. Defiance on their part would provoke a situation akin to the one that inspired Shakespeare’s Fool to remark, “Change places and handy-dandy which is the justice and which is the thief?”
Consultancy services for the needy students may be mandated in all the colleges (as doubt-clearing sessions) as this is one of the NAAC requirements. This will be more attractive if accompanied by some kind of remuneration with the consent of the government. I am sure this will dilute the tuition menace. Private tuition is not a ‘spectacular phenomenon’ but a menace and a social evil prompted only by the love of lucre. By demolishing class-room teaching and perpetuating the racket of private tuition which a large majority can ill-afford, we are defeating the state’s endeavour to enhance access of the masses to higher education. While the affluent, who are just a handful, may not grudge doling out large amounts of money for private coaching, the middle class is groaning under the weight of this problem while the poorer sections of the society, though harassed, watch helplessly.