Kaladan News
Private Tutoring become Common Practice in Arakan
State
By Fayas Ahmed
What is happening today did not previously exist. In the past, only the dull students
who could afford tuition fees used to go to private tutors. Usually they were
from well-to-do families. Generally the students did not require private
tuition if they were regular to their classes and attentive to their school
lessons. It was primarily because in those days the teachers were dedicated to
their noble profession. They took special care in the studies and welfare of
their students. They were proud of students’ better results and improvement.
They were not acquainted with the bad practice of cheating in teaching despite
economic hardship with many of them. Today’s education system encourages
private tuition by schoolteachers too. Private tutoring of school and college
students for high tuition fees has become a common practice in
One Kamal Hussain is living
on fixed income said that he is unable to treat his four school going children
equally in their pursuit of education. He could, however, keep two of the
children under the care of private tutors while the rest two get no such extra
help.
“Those who are learning under private tutors, who are also their
schoolteachers, are usually doing well in tests and examinations. The others
are generally left behind.” said Rahim, a petty
businessman. He believes that today the students need private tuition to do
well in exams because unlike previously the schools now pay very little
attention to the students’ performance. These days’ classes are also very large
and the teachers cannot cope up with the stress and stain, he continued.
Farida Begum is an educated workingwoman. She has
time, energy and education to help her son in his homework. She regularly
attends and takes care of her son helping him in his lessons. But her son never
obtained full marks in his examinations although his answers were 100 per cent
correct. She fails to understand it. It is a mystery with many of the parents
as well. Is it because Farida does not send her son
to the teachers of his school for what is known as private tuition? Those who
read privately with their schoolteachers always do better results than her son
in school tests and exams, she wonders. “I really don’t understand what is
happening with the education system now,” complains Farida
Begum.
Educationists say that the standard of education in the country at all levels
has fallen a great deal over the years. Syllabuses have changed in recent
years, especially in middle and High schools. The system of exams has also been
changed. In many cases, students cannot cope up with the new demand of studies
without help from private tutors. Since the schools are failing to provide
better education they students have to look for private tuition to do well in
exams. Thus the students who attend private tuition are doing better than their
classmates. Despite, criticism against private tuition, the practice has
continued and grown.
Meanwhile, the government considers banning coaching centers and notebooks that
have attracted many students from wealthy families. Government inspectors have
recently found that teachers in many schools in
Teachers are so poorly paid that they cannot survive in these days with rising
prices of essentials unless they earn extra money from private tuition.
Similarly the middle and low-income families have to struggle for their
livelihoods and their children are suffering.
However, many people don’t favor outlawing coaching centers. They say
authorities should enforce discipline and make guidelines for coaching centers
so that they cannot exploit students.
“We don’t have enough teachers in our schools. That’s why class hours are not
enough to finish syllabuses. So coaching centers have come
up. In some villages, the villagers themselves have to appoint one or
two private teachers in a government primary school by supporting each 100 Tawns (I Tawn = 14kg) paddy per year.
Generally the villagers collect one Tawn paddy from
each family, and those who could afford contribute extra paddy”, said a
schoolteacher.
Some NGOs, especially UNHCR supports some schools. It provides a schoolteacher
to a primary school by supporting him a bag of 50 kg rice per month. It also
supports 15kg rice per month to each girl students who are reading in primary
schools in rural areas. This project helps to the poor people and encourages
the female education.
Dalil Meah, an ex-student
of Sittwe ( Akyab)
University says, “ Students need special coaching in higher classes. He,
however, says private coaching has become very
commercialized in recent years.”
The way the private coaching continues to make profit the common people do not
approve of it as the students, especially from the lower and middle class
families, are suffering most, he further added.
In rural areas of northern Arakan, particularly in Buthidaung north, villagers have to pay Kyat 1,000 to 3,000
per family to the Nasaka according to their financial
status to support the schoolteachers. Nasaka started
this collection system from month. In rural area, most of the primary
schoolteachers attend their school only one week per month, since the salaries
they are receiving are not enough to maintain their families, They need to earn
extra money to survive doing available outside work which is unofficially
tolerated.
Education is the backbone of the people. Today the education of the country is
nowhere under the present military regime. Day by day and year by year,
education is decreasing producing no qualified workforce. But SPDC announces
the education in
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