'Cosmo parents spend 1/3 of their incomes on private tuitions'

Mathematics dominates the private tuition market the most. According to a random survey conducted under the aegis of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF), 70 per cent of the students who have been taking tutorials find that Chemistry and Physics have the second best market in Science category. The Maths, Chemistry and Physics tutors earn a five-figure monthly income from tutoring, says Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, D S Rawat.

The survey done was done in cosmopolitan cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Madras, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Dehradun, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer, covering nearly 5,000 students, including parents, from March and April 2009. The findings clearly indicate an increasing dependence of a majority of middle class students on tuitions for obtaining higher marks.

This has emboldened most of teachers to quote higher professional fee from parents which ranges between Rs 300 to Rs 800 an hour on a one-to-one basis. Group tuition per classes cost between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 monthly. Majority of parents spend Rs 3,500 or more every month on a single child for their tuition fees.

Teachers also no longer shy away from mentioning that they take tuitions. In fact, many think themselves as better teachers because they are able to attract a large number of students in their tuition classes.

It also estimates that 38 per cent of the parents spend Rs 1,000 monthly on tuition for each primary-level child. Secondary-level tuition set parents back by about Rs 3,500 monthly. Nearly 60 per cent parents spend about Rs 8,000 per month on tuition for two kids, which incidentally is more than three times the school fees.

Over three million cosmopolitan children use private tutors. 85 per cent of the students felt that if one does not take tuitions then it means he or she is not ambitious enough.
“Many schools conveniently push the ball back to parents, to tell them to engage private tutors for their kids. This is a serious failure in the education system,” opines Rawat.
Of the 97 per cent students, who took part in the survey and who attend tuitions, 68 per cent found it ‘useful’ and 64 per cent even found it ‘enjoyable’.

The survey reveals that the rush for private tuition is more a consequence of the ‘exam phobia’ that has gripped the country in the past five-seven years, Rawat adds. Many tutors are full-time teachers, who squeeze in a few private lessons in evenings. Other tutors are ‘professionals’, for whom tutoring provides their main income. Tutoring is also a popular way for students, especially postgraduates, to earn extra cash. Many parents choose a student rather than an experienced teacher because they think their child will relate to them.

The downside
Private tuition undermines the ethos of comprehensive education, allowing wealthy parents to buy better results for their children. So the first sufferers are the poor students.
ASSOCHAM Press Release