Open letter to Education Secretary over private tuition

Education Secretary Thilaka Jayasundara 

How ethically right is it for the teachers of Royal College Primary to coerce their students to attend their private tuition classes and charge exorbitant fees?

And what happens to those who don’t heed?

They are condemned to be academically poor!

Please read the following lament by a harassed mother:

Students who declined are gradually sidelined or at times openly bullied whereas those who attend, become the star students overnight.

They score highest marks at term tests obviously due to the inside edge.

The same teacher, teaches with far more energy and dedication and covers far more syllabus than in the class.

The parents are compelled to send their children as they want to avoid the wrath (had they declined) and also to ensure that their kids have a smooth sailing through the Primary.

Royal Primary seems to provide early lessons in how to get ahead in life. All that’s required is the parents’ ability to afford FREE EDUCATION.

Parents are given a wide choice. If the parents could afford, the teacher would visit their residence and coach the precious child individually.

The next level is group classes. Numbers vary from 4-10 students.

At the lowest level are online classes (Zoom or WhatsApp). The class sizes are much smaller 2-3.

Fees vary. Rated per hour and paid monthly by cash. For a grade one child current rate is Rs. 500 per hour whereas for a G5 student it would be 1,500. Durations are 1-2 hours per session and usually three such sessions per week (if the student is weak, the dosage would naturally increase).

Grade 5 Scholarship exam is a bonanza where teachers can charge different rates based on their academic standard.

At the beginning there were only a handful unscrupulous and shameless individuals engaged in charging the very same students for which the Government was paying them monthly and providing lifelong employment with retirement benefits. But today Madam Secretary, mainly due to the reluctance of your Ministry to enforce ethical and moral standards, about 50% of teachers at Royal Primary are now said to be engaged in this shameless act forgetting they have reached this position thanks to Late and Great C.W.W. Kannangara’s free education.

O tempora o mores! 

Please start at the Royal Primary and clean up this rotten mess.

Padmasena Dissanayake

Royal College ‘67-’74