|
There
are four kinds of teachers.
The first of them are those who don’t teach well
in the schools/colleges they work in and they
don’t (can’t) teach well in private tuition
classes. But, they help “their” students get
good scores in the exams. You will be amazed by
their guessing ability. The best of them would
give you the same “guess” questions as in the
actual question paper. Actually, they don’t work
in schools/colleges for salary but to get the
clients (students) and partners (other staff).
So far, these teachers have not thought of
forming a union, to make it mandatory for the
students to come to them for private tuition, in
order to get “guess” questions. Greed stops them
from doing so, so they just have a network, not
a union. They disclose “guess” questions to
whoever pays money to them. Students in private
tuition pay in installments, while others pay
lump sum (mostly in connivance with their
parents). The latter often costs less but the
effort and risk involved is higher for the
client. In private tuition, the students and
their guardian have the right to question
(sometimes beat) such teachers if they do not
ensure good scores. Is this what I paid you for?
Such teachers’ duty and greed does not stop at
sharing guess questions. After that, they have
to make sure that their students don’t get
caught copying in the examination, they have to
trace the answer sheets, approach the teacher
(supposed to be) correcting them, and get the
marks increased. Again, they do not limit these
services to their students alone, anyone who
pays them can avail their services. This
“education” business is much bigger than one can
imagine, probably next only to extortion and
transfer-posting. Not just teachers, many others
are involved in this business. Other than
teaching, these teachers always mean their
business with acute sense of professionalism.
The second of them are those who don’t teach
well in the schools/colleges they work in, but
they teach well in the private tuition classes.
Such a behavior is interesting. This may be a
result of frustration, peer-pressure, lack of
motivation, social environment etc. This is a
result of the thinking, “What do I get if I
teach well in the college? Will I get any more
money/recognition? Will I get more respect?”
This is where someone is not corrupt
intrinsically, but is driven towards corruption
by various external factors.
The third of them are those who teach well in
the schools/colleges they work in and also in
the private tuition classes. The benefit of
having such teachers is realized by those
students who have professors of the first and
second kind in their colleges.
The fourth and the rarest kind are those who
teach well in the schools/colleges they work in
and they don’t conduct private tuition classes
at all. For such teachers, moral uprightness is
their only motivation. They are right people in
a wrong place, unfortunately. Some may end up
becoming the second kind of the teachers as they
approach retirement. They would have the same
questions though, in past tense. “Did I get more
money/respect”?
You may argue over this classification. But, the
aim here is not to classify the teachers, but to
think over the decision to ban private tuitions.
What we are trying to solve by banning private
tuition? Private tuition is a solution for a
problem that the current state of education
poses. It’s not a problem in itself. Don’t
forget the third kind of teachers who would be
stopped from teaching students from other
colleges if there is a ban on private tuition.
Will banning private tuition (considering that
it is implemented well) eliminate the first kind
of teachers and their network including private
coaching centers? I say, NO. Will it boost the
morale of the second kind of teachers? No.
Another big article is required to talk of the
reforms needed in the education to solve the
real problem. Maybe the readers would help me
here by adding their comments with the solution.
|
Comments: |
Could not agree more with the
author.
It is really sad that we are still
living a make believe ideal world
and this is at a very high cost to
ourselves.
Hope we learn some pragmatic
behaviour from the leftists in China
or be left behind like those in
USSR.
Thanks - Thakur Vikas Sinha -
Sept. 15, 2006
Timely article Kumodji. This is not
only an occurrence in India, but is
a bane as well as big business here
in Malaysia. Sometimes I wonder if
it exists more for the peace of mind
of parents than the benefit of
students. For the Malaysian
experience click on
this link. - Dr
Ignatius Joseph, Malacca, Malaysia -
Sept. 15, 2006
First, I think any teacher who is
not effective in the classroom,
regardless of the cause, should be
replaced by someone with the
competencies to teach students
effectively.
Second, I think that an across the
board ban on private tuition is not
the way to go, because many
excellent tutors are also excellent
teachers, and students should
benefit from their instruction and
tuition.
However, I feel it is unethical for
a classroom teacher to provide
private tuition to one of their
students, giving that student an
undue advantage over their
classmates. Outside of this, though,
I feel that the universities and
colleges should not interfere with
what their employees do in their own
time. If they want teachers to
devote more time to teaching, then
they should offer more attractive
remuneration packages so their
instructors don't feel the need to
supplement their income. Also,
"answer-geared" tutoring instead of
"learning-geared" tutoring and
unethical tutoring practices are
abhorrent, but banning teachers from
tutoring is not the solution, but
tutor training and certification is.
- Jarrod Brown, Academic
Director, TutorVista.com - Sept. 15,
2006
I think a blanket ban on private
tutoring by government employed
teachers is nothing but providing a
simple solution to such a complex
issue. There is no doubt a conflict
of interest here when a teacher
tutors his own students outside the
classroom for money against those
who do not or can not afford to get
his/her tutoring services but still
I think there should have been more
careful and planned approach to
solve this problem. I am not sure
about the exact details but I
remember one of my experiences. When
I was preparing for JEE, if there
would have been not been tutoring I
would not have been able to get the
opportunity to learn from some of
the most wonderful teachers of PCM
in Patna. But I also have
experiences that good teachers, who
really want to teach. they do it
irrespective of place, money or any
greed. Such teachers they like
teaching and do not treat as if it
is nothing but a money making
exercise. Unfortunately, teaching
has a become a sideshow and its more
about making money today. -
Ravindra Kumar - Sept. 15, 2006 |
|
Discussion on this topic is now
closed. |
Return to previous Page |
