Tuitions, default option taken by parents for wards’ academic show

Soon after reaching home from the school in the late afternoon, five-year-old K Anitha is busy getting ready for another class. It was neither a sports session nor a music class, but a three-hour-long tuition class.

Such instances are not one-off as most parents are spending thousands of rupees every month on private tuitions in the hope that it would help kids to improve their academic performance. 

Parents, who send their children to tuition classes, blame the packed classrooms, lack of attention by school teachers as well as the desire to compete with other students for their choice. Until a few years ago, it was only the students appearing for their 10th and 12th board examinations who were seen opting for tuition. However, in recent years, that scenario has changed. In some cases, Parents are sending their children to private coaching even before their kid joins a kindergarten. 

“I am sending my three-year-old child to a private coaching centre for two months to get prepared for LKG admission interview this year. There is a huge competition for the school, which I have selected,” said S Thiyagarajan, a software engineer and a resident of Mudichur. 

Thiyagarajan, who paid a ‘special package’ fee of Rs 5,000, opined that tuitions at a young age can help students achieve their academic potential. “Due to the increasingly competitive nature of getting into popular educational institutions even at primary level, tuitions are mandatory,” he added. 

Similarly, S Meenakshi, who is working in a private concern, made several visits to many top schools in the city for her son’s LKG admission. However, she was not successful.  “I enrolled my son into a private coaching class, where they prepared him so well that he performed better at the test and secured admission,” she added. 

For the schools, there is a fear of a drop in academic performance of their students. “We need to be strict in all academic aspects right from the beginning and only then students can compete well when they pursue higher studies,” said a principal of a private school in Chennai. In some popular private educational institutions (at primary level) in Chennai, the school authorities adopt strict norms in the written test for admission. “That pushes parents to pay for expensive private tuitions,” said K Venkatesh, a student counsellor, in the city. 

According to him, tuitions may actually be working against students. “Excessive studying at a young age could be counterproductive. This might lead to a decline in pleasure that children get through extracurricular and recreational activities,” he said. 

The concept of tuitions is not just confined to within the primary level as students have no other choice but to continue taking the classes even in the higher secondary level. 

“Now it is mandatory for even plusone students to appear for board exams. Therefore, my daughter has to continue her tuition studies till class twelve,” S Anitha, a housewife, said. She said every year she is spending a minimum of Rs 15,000 as tuition fees for her daughter. 

Adding to the woes of parents is the challenge to prepare children for competitive examinations like JEE. 

Some teachers say that the mushrooming of tuition centres all over the city is an indicator of the unnecessary fear of parents about their children’s studies. S Kavitha, a primary school teacher in Pallavaram, said, “Even brilliant students are forced to go to tuition classes by their parents, who then feel secured about their kids’ performance.

Private tuition centres defends Meanwhile, those who run the private tuition centres say that the purpose is to help children understand something better than what they learn in the school daily. 

“Now most of the classes especially at the primary level is overcrowded. Teachers do not have time to take care of every child. Some children are shy to seek clarification about their doubts. Tuitions will help in this aspect,” KS Kesavan, the owner of a private tuition centre in the city said. 

S Vidya, a teacher of a private school in Velachery, who conducts tuition in the evenings, said it is more of an opportunity. “It is there if you need it but it is not mandatory to attend. Tuition has helped many students in the past not just in getting good grades, but also make them understand on what they were learning in schools.”