Pvt coaching takes over college lessons

Shachi Mane, 18, a BSc student of a city college spends Rs5,000 a month for math coaching. She attends college only to complete the compulsory 75% attendance quota.

“The teacher in the college keeps changing every six months.

Besides, they failed to solve most of the tough questions. There is no alternative other than take coaching,” says Mane.

Her widow mother, a school teacher, struggles hard to pay fees for college and coaching.

Like Mane, there are hundreds of students across the metro region who are totally dependent on coaching classes for education and success.

In a latest survey conducted among students, 71% admitted that private coaching has taken over college lessons.

The study was conducted by 13 students of St Xavier’s College under the guidance of Prof Avkash Jadhav, also a nominated councillor in the civic body. The survey covered 5,000 students of different streams from Mumbai and Thane colleges.

A third-year BCom student of a Navi Mumbai college voices a problem faced by many students. “Our college teachers ask us to join the coaching institutes they work with. We do that as under the credit-based system of the University of Mumbai, 40% marks are given by teachers,” says the student.

No wonder then, coaching classes have become a parallel education system. “Students come to us as colleges fail to impart quality education. This is because recruitment is based on reservation and corruption. Teachers lack dedication and skill. We hire the best teachers and thus our results are the best,” said an owner of a coaching institute.

Debajit Sarkar, principal of JM Patel College of Commerce in Goregaon, too, blames the teachers. “When teachers fail to deliver, pupils have no other way but to seek the help from outside.

Credit-based semester system has failed to discourage private coaching. Over 50% of commerce students still attend private classes. This is a shame on our education system.”

Sarkar insists of parental counselling, saying: “There is parental and peer pressure also.”

Legally, no full-time teacher is allowed to work in coaching classes but the rule is flouted. A professor recalls the tenure of former vice-chancellor of Mumbai university Prof Snehalata Deshmukh, when she cracked down on nexus of teachers and coaching classes.

“Several coaching classes were raided and action taken on many full-time teachers found working in private coaching institutes.

Higher education department today lacks such political will,” he said. Many engineering and medical students too rely on coaching classes.

Dr Nirmala Barse, deputy dean of Sion hospital and a mother of a teenager, says: “The classes are acting like a mafia. Many classes collected higher fee last year in the name of NEET-PG and NEET-UG which were supposed to be ‘one India one exam’.

The Supreme Court order has brought back the state-level test but coaching institutes refuse to return the extra money.”

Parents usually don’t put up a fight fearing discrimination of their child.

Prof Jadhav says, “The shortcomings of our education system lead to brain drain. The lack of sensitivity, flexibility and openness in our system make students go aboard.”

More than 2.5 lakh students go abroad every year for higher education. “Most of them never return as they can’t relate to the system here,” says Jadhav.

When asked if the survey aims to criticise the Democratic Front government in the state, Prof Jadhav says: “We didn’t aim to criticise the system. We hope that this survey opens some new dimensions in policy making.”