Going for tuition after school or college is fast becoming a common trend among students in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The situation has led to the mushrooming of private tuition centers and the centers are doing good business because of poor teaching standards at schools. However, there are parents who send their children to these centers because either they are busy with professional responsibilities or are not qualified enough to help their children do homework.
While some students take private tuitions throughout the year, others opt for them when exams are near. Although there are some good tuition centers in the city, known for quality education and facilities, the general impression is that a large majority of these centers are in business to make fast bucks as opposed to helping students prepare for their exams. A few of these centers also offer home tuition but their charges are exorbitant. Therefore, parents prefer sending their children to tuition centers instead of hiring a home tutor.
Normally, tuition centers charge within a range of Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 monthly from each student per subject and offer some concession in case of the entire course, which takes months to complete. Most centers promise parents that their children would pass exams with good marks. Muhammad Ali, who teaches at a tuition center in G-6 said that tuition was a need rather than a trend. He said tuition helped students stay in tune with their studies.
He further said that the standard of government as well as private schools was so low that parents had to send their children to tuition centers, where proper courses are prepared and repeated before the exams. As a result, students secure good grades, he added.
He also said that in these centers students were taught in an easy and informal manner along with individual attention. He said students were also given help material by the tuition centers.
Saima Saleem, a housewife, said she needed tutors for her children because teaching methods in their school were not up to the mark. “My husband and I are too occupied with our jobs to teach our children, therefore, we have arranged a tutor for them. I know many families who are not much educated and send their children to private tuition centers,” she said.
