Private tuition & privatization of school education
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 08 2015 -

The Tripura High Court issued an order on September 3 which put a blanket ban on private tuition by teachers of Government schools and colleges.

The Court also imposed some restrictions on tuitions given by private school teachers.

The Court said, “Private school teachers can give tuitions with prior permission from the authorities concerned, but without hampering classroom teaching.”

It said even if they are allowed to do so, they can only impart tuitions to students from other schools.

In case of government schools, if additional tuitions become necessary, the teachers will take extra classes beyond school hours and school authorities will manage their compensation.

Expressing concern over the rampant practice of tuitions by school and college teachers, the High Court has asked the Government of Tripura to ensure the compliance of the government’s orders banning private tuitions.

Certainly, the High Court’s order has its own merits and demerits. Though the High Court’s jurisdiction is restricted within the State of Tripura, it is highly relevant and significant in Manipur too where private tuition has become an integral part of formal (school) education.

In the case of Manipur, more than 90 per cent of the private tutors are teachers of private schools. Government schools in Manipur have been left out of the competition for academic excellence since a long time back.

It is students of private schools who have been making to the top 25 merit list of Class X examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur every year.

Socio-economic and political conditions of Tripura and Manipur may not be exactly similar.

Nonetheless, private tuition has become a necessity and an integral part of formal education in Manipur.

This may be attributed to several factors such as frequent bandhs, strikes, political agitation, enhanced sense of competitiveness among parents as well as young students etc.

Obviously, private tuition entails extra expenditure which is quite a big amount if calculated on annual basis.

Many families have been investing their hard earned money in sending their children to private tutors which otherwise could have been invested for generating more income.

In fact, private tuition has taken a heavy toll on the State’s economy.

The recent High Court’s order evokes a serious question. When did private tuition become an integral part of formal education in Manipur?

About three/four decades back, private tuition was reserved for a privileged few who were academically not so bright.

Nowadays, almost 90 per cent of students studying in private schools go for private tuition. Then it is pertinent to question if something is amiss in the classroom teaching.

No doubt, private tuition equips students better to face examinations but at the same time students have been accustomed to a culture of spoon-feeding.

The culture of spoon-feeding is robbing away the thinking power of our young students.

Students are not allowed to exercise their mental faculty to tackle a problem and arrive at a conclusion of their own because teachers in coaching centres are ever present to supply them with readymade answers.

Students studying in Government schools, in general, are not regular in attending classes and if they attend classes, they are not taught properly.

Adding to their misery, most of the Government school students don’t go for private tuition either due to poverty or their parents are disinterested.

Whereas the level of competitiveness is rising year after year, the arena of competition is shrinking reciprocally.

Competition and sense of competitiveness have already become an exclusive domain of private and mission schools only.

This is reflected most glaringly in the results of Class X and Class XII examinations conducted by Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) and Council of Higher Secondary Examination Manipur (COHSEM).

Given these facts, the recent Tripura High Court’s order merits in-depth analysis.

Right to education should be universal and it should not be denied to Government school students and students who cannot afford private tuition.