The results of the board exams and State elections were pitted in a strange contest for attention this year, announced as they were, within days of each other. But in a country with the largest youth population in the world, it was clearly the exam results that held sway.
While it has become a routine exercise to publicly celebrate the ‘victory’ of students in board exams, little attention is paid to the other truth that this edifice of academics is built upon – a system of learning which promotes scoring marks over gaining knowledge.
Indian students seem to spend time not just in formal education, but also in simultaneous coaching classes that are perceived to give them an edge in exams where a single digit can make or break their future.
Analysing an appraisal of the country’s education released by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) last week, the data journalism initiative IndiaSpend says that 71 million children take tuitions on a regular basis.
The same report quotes figures from the trade watchdog Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India estimating the country’s private coaching market to be worth $ 40 billion (Rs. 2.6 lakh crore) in 2015.
“In 180 days of the school curriculum, at least 90 days are gone in writing exams,” says S. Chandrasekhar Davay, founder of Omega Coaching Centre in Tiruchi. “The teachers have no time to review the papers. And students are simply preparing for the next test, and pre-test for the main exam. This leads to a lot of stress in the senior classes,” he adds.
A growing preference for private schools over government-run institutions has created a competitive atmosphere that reeks of a gladiatorial blood sport among education providers.
The rush to get ‘centum’ results has created situations where academically weak children are weeded out early in the school year so that only those who stand a good chance at passing all the exams can participate. Many school managements offer financial rewards to faculty members who can guarantee a 100 per cent pass rate.
With this sort of pressure to succeed, less scrupulous schools opt to skip teaching Plus 1 (Class XI) lessons and move on straight to Plus 2 (Class XII) portions to gain time for the board exams.
“Tuitions were originally meant for students who were lagging behind in class. But now even the brilliant children prefer to go for extra coaching,” says the principal of a Thanjavur-based government school who requested anonymity. “Tuitions are not really necessary for exam success. It is possible for students to do well if they are pay attention in class and revise their lessons at home daily,” he adds.
There are many reasons why tuitions have assumed such a dominant role in the life of the Indian student. The increasing complexity of the school curriculum has meant that most parents are unable to review lessons at home after Class VI. According to the NSSO survey, at least 89.2 per cent of students said ‘augmenting basic education’ was why they opted for tuitions.
What starts as one additional class invariably leads to the complete outsourcing of follow-up learning to professional tutors. There are many families, especially in rural areas, with first-generation learners who need the attention of tutors to cope in school. “We have had many requests for us to start hostels for children who are coming to us for tuitions from smaller towns, because their parents are keen to educate them,” says R.V. S. Muralidhar, founder of Seekers Education, a Tiruchi-headquartered coaching centre that has branches in Madurai, Thanjavur, Karur, Kuthalam, Kumbakonam, Karaikal, Chidambaram, Tirunelveli, Neyveli and Namakkal. Parents typically pay around Rs. 40,000 per year for senior class coaching. It is an expense that they justify if it gets the desired result, says Mr. Muralidhar. “The rank of the student in competitive exams determines the fees he or she will have to pay. The fee difference in getting marks with and without coaching can go up to Rs. 1 lakh,” he adds.
The single-minded pursuit of excellence in studies irrespective of the child’s capabilities can create extreme mental stress. On May 17, a Class 12 student in a private school at Karamadai, Coimbatore district, committed suicide fearing failure in the board exams even before the results were announced. What made his death more poignant was that he had scored over 60 per cent.
In April, a 17-year-old aspiring engineer at a coaching centre in Kota, Rajasthan, jumped to her death from the fifth floor of her residential building leaving behind a five-page suicide note that urged the Indian government to shut down coaching centres because of the stress they had caused.
“Besides improving the teaching standards in schools, we need to create awareness among parents to focus on more than marks,” says Mr. Muralidhar of Seekers Education. “Children who don’t do well in exams are intelligent too. They can shine in other fields, but this obsession with marks is spoiling many lives.”
Says a Tiruchi-based parent whose son is awaiting his Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class XII results next week, “My son has been attending private coaching since Class VII. I don’t mind paying for these extra lessons, but the school too has a role to play. I have done my best to help him shine. After all, I cannot study for my son.”
