Page 4 - BLOSSOMS 19 10-02-2021

Does my child need Private tutoring?...By Juliet Goje

As long as I can remember, the term “Lesson Teacher or Private tutoring” has been in existence
I am sure even before I was born. Parents believe that a lesson teacher plays a significant role in
the education of their children. When asked why they need one in the first place, their responses

vary from; “My child is not doing well in some areas so a lesson teacher will ‘reinforce’ on what
has been taught in school”, “My child gets a lot of homework, so I need someone to supervise
my child”, “I don’t have the time or I do not know how to help my child”, “I want my child to
go to the top schools, so he/she needs coaching to pass their exams”.

I am not saying that having a private tutor for a child who is genuinely struggling in school is
wrong. The point here is the over dependence that parents place on lesson teachers as a
means to determining the success of their children. Consequently, students of all types – weak,

average and bright have taken recourse to lesson teachers for different reasons. However, the
specific reasons for private tuition are varied based on educational, social, cultural, economic
and psychological reasons.

I came across a research done by an Assistant Professor in D.M. College of Teacher Education, Imphal, Manipur about
Private tutoring. He carried out a survey in some schools in India as regards why parents
encouraged lesson teachers. He defined private tutoring as a fee-based tutoring that
provides supplementary instruction to children in academic subjects that they study in

the mainstream education system. It primarily focuses on tutoring lessons for children
or adolescents paid for by their households or parents. So, private tutoring can clearly
be considered to be a form of private education. In his study, he focused on the
following aspects of private tutoring.

Causes of an increase in the trend of lesson teachers: Why a lesson teacher in the first place?

• Ineffective classroom teaching and rigid curriculum.
• Heavy stress on academic performance.

• Overcrowded classroom and lack of individual attention.
• Examination oriented school culture.
• Peer influence to join private tuition.
• Parents pressure to join private tuition.
• An alternative means to help weak students.

• An alternative means for the students who are not attending regular classes.
• Insufficiency of academic guidance from elders in the family.
• Need for higher academic achievement for competitive examinations.

85% of the students interviewed strongly agreed that the need for higher academic achievement for competitive ex-

aminations has led to seek private tuition. There is a high need to pass exams into prestigious schools hence the need
for lesson teachers.

DISCOVER . DEVELOP . DELIVER