JOIN USThe menace of home tuition, so far a fad in cities, has now raised its head in the taluk also. The national education policy of 1986 abhors home tuitions. But no one seems to care for it anymore.
The education department officials, who should curb the trend, are mute spectators to the mushrooming of coaching centres. In Bangarpet town alone, there are 17 tuition centres for SSLC, PUC, CET, JEE and AIEEE, with a student strength of more than 1,500 students. The total monthly fees at these centres is put at Rs 3 lakh a month.
The classes are usually held in batches from 5 am to 9 pm. The number of coaching centres in the taluk has been put at 50. Students are said to be more punctual in attending the tuitions than their schools and colleges. Sending their wards to tuitions has become a prestige tag for parents, as opposed to the days of yore when going to coaching classes was considered ‘inferior’ and meant for only the not so bright students.
The students these days are a busy lot and attend tuitions even on days when their schools and colleges have a holiday. Many educational institutions conduct coaching classes in the evening, after the regular school and college hours.
What has spurred the trend for tuitions is the fact that the teaching in the schools and colleges is not up to the mark, which face a shortage of competent teachers. The tuition classes are more of practice sessions than anything concrete being taught. Answering question papers of previous years and revision are the highlights of the coaching centres.
“Parents have lost their trust in the government educational institutions. For them, tuitions are the panacea for all ills of the educational system and that which ensure a better future for their children,” says Vemagal S Krishnappa of Young India Integrated Foundation.
M Sundaramma of We Care says that tuitions are here to stay as long as the government does not improve the education system and takes seriously the job of eradicating the menace of tuitions. In Bangarpet, coaching classes are conducted even for competitive exam like the UPSC. Teachers at coaching classes command more respect these days than those in the schools and colleges is the refrain of the common man