Many teachers of government and government sponsored schools are still giving private tuition in West Bengal. It is reported that a large section of ‘private’ tutors of Chakdaha in Nadia recently submitted a memorandum to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Nadia in this regard. United under the banner of “Chakdaha Block Welfare Association”, they demanded proper implementation of the ban on teachers’ private tuition. The DI has assured them that if he receives any specific complaint, he will look into it. The main allegation of the tutors of such organisations formed in several districts of the state is that the teachers, who generally ‘underestimate’ the tutors, very often eat into their earnings by ‘snatching’ their students in different ways. The issue must be addressed according to the demand of time.

Time was when school teachers used to struggle to make ends meet and so they had to give private tuition to supplement their meager monthly income. The ‘private’ students who could not afford to pay the fees in cash would offer different crops of their lands and/or fish of their ponds. The retired elderly teachers, who had suffered the worst, still recall the days passed in penury. The worried parents used to think at least twice before settling their daughters’ marriage to a school teacher. How poor the teachers had been then! But even a few years ago, they were all held in high esteem everywhere.

Those days are gone. In fact, things have changed much over the last few decades. There is no denying that after coming to power in 1977, the Left Front government had considerably raised the teachers’ salaries from time to time and ensured their job security. But the present Trinamul government is quite indifferent to their legitimate dues and demands. Money is not all, though. Incidentally, teachers are no longer addressed by any minister of the government with the epithet ‘honourable’ as the finance minister of the previous government, Mr Asim Dasgupta had spontaneously done. Arguably, the ‘Shiksharatna’ award has already turned into a ‘farce’ because of its controversial selection process. Even in social circles, the teachers are rarely treated with respect.

Well, now that the teachers draw ‘fat’ salaries every month, they should not engage themselves in private tuition, feel many. Though teaching is still thought to be a noble profession, it is fast losing much of its lustre owing to various reasons. The teachers’ private tuition is a case in point. Many teachers who are still giving private tuition will show the reasons why they should continue with it. One, they can hone their skills in their subjects. Two, they can spend the time well with the students. Three, they can help weak students who cannot follow classroom lessons properly. Four, they can help bright students quench their thirst for more knowledge. Five, they can earn more money with which they can make a more decent living. Six, they can avail themselves of the opportunity to contribute something more to society. A visit to their houses or coaching centres will be revealing.

Interestingly, those who teach English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other ‘hard’ subjects are much in demand. Many of them ‘claim’ that they can pay due attention to each and every student in a batch of thirty to fifty, which they generally cannot do in the schools where they teach. They are the kings and queens of their own kingdoms, as it were. Indeed, they are still the prime movers in the age-old parallel education system – private tuition. With it thrives the culture of notes in exchange for notes.

Amid the debate over whether private tuition (whoever gives it) is a boon or a bane in the present education system, the reports of different surveys show that almost all students – right from the primary level to the higher secondary level – are very much dependent on private tuition. Even Madhyamik and Higher Secondary toppers attribute their grand success to the all-round help provided not only by their teachers but also by their tutors. Guardians generally think that mere attending classes does not fetch their wards good marks as the teachers cannot complete the entire syllabus within the stipulated time. Interestingly, they usually prefer school teachers to unemployed educated youths as their wards’ tutors. They often discourage their wards to attend school regularly as they think that it is a waste of time. The steady fall in the percentage of students’ attendance in the schools of the state shows that the students are fast losing interest in classroom teaching. Many of them start playing truant just after the recess. Are the schools mainly meant for admission, registration, examination and promotion? The teachers with their very own brand of humour say: “We come and go, but receive salaries in time”. Truly, those who dissipate much time and energy by giving private tuition on a large scale at home cannot usually do their official duties well in schools. It is alleged that some of them remain so exhausted that they often loll back in their cosy chairs in the staff room stealing time from their allotted duties. It is also alleged that some of them, out of ‘understood commitment’, give full marks in project and practical papers illegitimately and leak questions of different school examinations to their ‘private’ students (who read in the schools where they teach). They even allegedly help them in the examination hall, ensure their promotion through the backdoor, and so on.

On the other hand, there are some teachers in every school, who irrespective of whether they give private tuition or not, do their duties most sincerely. It is on their collective efforts that the present ‘rickety’ structure of school education is standing upright. Is private tuition then a necessary evil?

It bears recall that the Left Front government had banned private tuition by permanent scale teachers in 2001. They all had to give a ‘muchleka’ (written undertaking) to the government that they were not engaged in private tuition or private trade. Truly, many of them stopped their ‘private practice’ but some continued with it openly or secretly as usual. Initially, the government seemed to be strict on those defying the ban and conducted a few ‘raids’ on specific complaints. Later, the teachers were just requested to give up private tuition. Strangely, even after that many teachers continued to run after ‘filthy lucre’ as before. However, the government did not clarify why it had eventually backtracked on the ban.

Just eight years later, it was for the first time that private tuition by the teachers was prohibited through an act passed in Parliament. Section 28 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 states: “No teacher shall engage himself or herself in private tuition or private teaching activity.” But as there is no follow-up action, this significant ban too remains only on paper.

It is now widely felt that private tuition by salaried teachers has to be stopped without further delay. The overall standards of the government and government sponsored schools are falling by the day. This is why many guardians, irrespective of their income levels, opt for private Bengali or ‘English medium’ schools for their wards’ education. Truly, despite several ‘social schemes’ introduced in schools, education in West Bengal is in a shambles. Many teachers of government- run schools send their children to private schools even for a donation of thousands of rupees and hefty tuition fees. What does it verily indicate?

It is to be noted that everything will not be alright only if teachers give up private tuition. A large number of Bengali medium schools are either stalking or getting dried up due to various reasons. They are now plagued by lack of infrastructure, shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff, vitiated teaching learning atmosphere, flaws in academic and administrative affairs, outsiders’ unnecessary interference in the schools’ internal matters, and so on. These things need to be sincerely addressed with the help of all concerned. The fact, however, remains that it all depends on the teachers’ intentions.

At a time when the school students are addicted to different spicy packages of the Internet, the books are bound to lie on the shelf in utter neglect. Hence, many of them take the ‘short-cut’ to success – adopting unfair means in the examination hall. There is no alternative to classroom teaching and it is the teachers who can motivate the students to bring back their reading habit. Teachers can do what parents cannot. In many cases, the progress reports show that the students are generally gaining little from private tuition. Can the ‘decisive’ role of the institutions be ruled out in this regard?

Certain educationists think that there is no need for the students to receive private tuition if the lessons are learnt and taught well in the classroom itself. Teachers must rise to the occasion. Even after that, the students may go to the reliable ‘private’ tutors for further help. It’s upto them. But today’s society wants the teachers to be more committed to their noble work. The teachers must give up private tuition in the larger interests of education.

(The writer is an English Teacher at Nona-Chandanpukur Manmatha Nath High School (HS), Barrackpore)