Tuition dilemma

The tuition debate is back on the table once again, this time after remarks by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who is also the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, at a recent public address.

In her remarks, the PM said attending tuition classes is not a Government-mandated requirement, and that students are under no official obligation to do so. “We are not telling students to attend tuition classes. If they are causing pressure, let’s change that.”

The remarks have, as expected, drawn many comments, some welcoming possible Government intervention on the tuition front, while others have criticised her remarks, stating she has no understanding of how State sector schools work.

There are around 3.7 million students in State-run schools with around 242,000 teachers. The teachers are disproportionately distributed, with bigger schools having more teachers, in excess in some cases, while others barely have enough teachers to cover all the subjects. Either way, with adequate teachers or not, parents, more than students, are keen to send children for tuition classes so that they get additional coaching, particularly for mathematics and science subjects. The tuition culture is so engrained that even students who are sitting for the grade five scholarship exam go for extra classes, with the stakes high for getting a placement in classes run by popular tuition teachers.

There was a high-profile case last year where a tuition teacher had requested Police support for a ceremony she was holding to honour students who had successfully passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. The event was said to involve nearly 8,000 students and 35,000 parents. This gives a snapshot of how much tuition classes have become glorified, to the extent that there are mini convocations for students who are in grade five. Such efforts are fully supported by parents who are, naturally, keen to ensure their child gets good marks and gains entry into a so-called popular school.

Private tuition was unheard of till about the 1980s. Prior to that, it was a system used by students who were weak in some subjects and needed additional help. Even then, one of the school teachers would agree to assist such a student by holding a few extra classes in their homes or after school. It was usually in the run-up to the G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) examination that many attended extra classes, but now, for some parents, the competition begins from grade one, and even young children are carted from class to class by over-enthusiastic parents.

These days, tuition teachers are on par with or even more popular than film actors or singers. Their larger-than-life hoardings are a common sight and draw students in their thousands. They play a crucial role in a society where both parents and students are keen to gain an extra advantage in their studies, which could propel them to university entry, an overseas scholarship or entry into professional courses.

There are socio-economic factors driving the demand for tuition, and these cannot be dismissed offhand. The PM may have her views, and her intentions are good in wanting to lessen the pressures on parents, but most parents choose to pressure themselves and their children, and there is nothing a Government can do in this regard. What can be done is to regulate the tuition system so that students get a good standard of education from such classes.

The hunger for upward social mobility is a never-ending desire. The parents of today want to push their children a notch higher than their current social status, while the children of today, who will be parents a few decades later, will do the same so that their children can gain an even higher position in society. Education is the best way to do so. Hence, the tuition system seems to be catering to the needs of the masses more than exploiting them.