Unavoidable Question: \'Coaching Business\' -- Colloquial Compulsion or Futile Fashion\'?

০৩ রা মে, ২০১৮ রাত ১:৩২

There has always been a heavy flow of weighty words against the rise of 'coaching' dependency of the school [both Bangla & English Medium] going children across the country. I convey my deep respect to those who spend their precious time thinking about the positives & negatives of our education system & then engage themselves to turn the negatives into positives. Either the ‘words’ are not strong enough or the reasons behind, but the fact is that nothing could stop this 'business'. Instead the number is increasing every day.

You will hardly find an English Medium school student who doesn’t attend ‘coaching’ classes in the evening after school days. The situation in Bangla Medium school has got nothing strange.

In the words of Aristotle, “man is by nature a social animal”. Since birth, he is in constant need of human interaction. The first human contact in a child’s life is his mother. But as the child grows and develops, his needs and requirements evolve. The home cannot provide all these requirements. Thus comes the role of a school. It equips a child to face all experiences necessary for his growth and development till he reaches a certain level of maturity to face the world. School is an integral part of a child’s life. A child goes to school not just to gain knowledge or information but to learn the essential threads of group dynamics, adjustment, developing interpersonal skills to live in a connected world.

There can NOT be an alternative of a school & there is none.

Why do children go to ‘coaching centers’ or ‘private teachers’ then?

I am not here to draw any conclusion about an issue like this.
I have intentions neither to support nor protest 'coaching-centers' or ‘private-teachers’.

But as a teacher & a parent, I have just been eager to share few questions with you all that I find really relevant to think when we concentrate on the education of a large group of students studying in hundreds of English Medium Schools across the country.


Can’t the schools provide their students with all their academic assistance?

The children are being accused of doing the 'crime' of going to the 'coaching centers' or 'other' teachers for 'further academic assistance' beyond the regular school-hours. The parents are being held as 'irresponsible' for assisting the children in this regard. They are accused of ruining the lives of the children they have given birth to, by sending them to the ‘coaching centers’.

The explanation mostly talked about in recent times as a reason for joining coaching centers is also very familiar to us --- Both the children & their parents are racing for 'marks' & 'grades'. Some of them also try to get some ‘extra-advantage’ by sending them to some particular coaching centers or teachers. The truth should undoubtedly be accepted that there are many coaching-goer children & parents who have got a very unhealthy addiction & attitude towards marks & grades. But ... is that all?

Why are the students & the parents running after marks & grades...?
How can the schools of our children avoid their part of contribution in creating this addiction inside the innocent minds of our children?
Isn’t 'Addiction for grades & marks' an outcome of our ‘marks-oriented' Education-System?

How do we hold the children & their parents responsible for the expansion of the ‘coaching’ businesses? Why can’t we stop this ‘business’? [If it’s merely a business & the students learn nothing productive from them?]
Aren’t the students & their parents just following the flows?

Who create the ‘flows’?

The teachers those who offer 'private tuitions' are being treated as the worst of the 'professional-criminals' in the eyes of many. They are not even recognised as 'teachers' by several education-experts. Not only that... Outside school, for any monetary benefit, if a teacher teaches the students of the same school he is doing the job for, s/he is even a 'legal' criminal by law now.

As a source of earning money, at his private clinic/chamber in the evening, with NO legal restrictions, if a doctor privately can treat the patients of the same hospital he is doing the job for... Why can’t a teacher do the same' in need of the students & also of a life he perhaps dreams to live with? What crime does a 'private teacher' commit by delivering his knowledge to the students in need?

Of course, there are culprits in all the professional groups. Therefore, you will find businessmen disguised as teachers, that’s also normal. Here comes the responsibility of the concerned. Let’s identify & boycott them. But for the flaws of a few you can NOT blame the whole community of the teachers.

I am not sure whether there has ever been a survey conducted in any level to find out the answer of the questions-- 'Why do children go to coaching centers?' or 'Why do the parents send their kids to 'private teachers?'. Until we ask this question to a child & get a detailed answer, we can NOT really hold anyone responsible for this 'crime'.

To get to the root of the problem [if we really consider this as a problem],
Let’s search the answers of the following questions:

Are the children forced to attend the coaching centers in any form by anyone?
[If so, then why don’t we punish them?]

Has it [coaching-going] just become another 'trend' among the students?

Are the schools not being able to provide their students with the expected 'quality' lessons in their classrooms?
Do the schools always pay more attention to find quality teachers for their students?
Do the schools pay enough to their teachers?

Do they put too much 'Homework Pressure' on the students?
Are the contents of the textbooks & curriculum [of the English Medium Schools in particular] being examined carefully by any authority to check whether they fit the age group of a certain class?

What are the schools doing to discourage the students from going to coaching centers?

How far do the school authorities listen to the ‘voices’ of the students & parents?

Is there any standard set by any reliable public authority to monitor the overall academic & non-academic issues of these schools?

I know the number of questions is too many to find answers at a time by anybody, but we cannot really ignore finding the answers of these questions just because they are large in numbers.

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