Malik Hassan Ahmed, posted an interesting question to me on Twitter,
I never went to an academy, my parents never did, do we really need them? Where were they 15-20 years ago? Commercial purposes only?
So I thought that it would probably be best to bring this discussion to the blog so that we can add more detail to it, which is not possible in 140 characters.
My initial response to the question "Commercial purposes only" is to hesitate from drawing a blunt, sharp conclusion.
Perhaps Hassan can detail below what types of tutoring agencies/academies is he talking about? Are they those Rs. 200-500 a month, rote learning, Metric/FSc centres where students face the wall and memorize page after page? Does he refer to the various tutorial agencies which borrow their names from different Greek alphabets? Or is his reference to one on one home tutoring?
As far as the question: "do we really need them"? Individual students learn differently, and a classroom in itself is a very bad place for learning as teachers have to teach to the lowest common denominator, ignoring those that need to be challenged, and the very worst, that need help and support. Tutoring can aid learning due to its focus, and in most cases in an environment where students are more comfortable in.
In Pakistan, however, tutoring academies also perform a social function, where peer pressure comes into play. It becomes an after school hangout, where people meet up due to a lack of alternative activities available.
The relationship between students and teachers is more relaxed in an academy setting which also aids learning, and there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that, especially for teens, the 8 am to 3 pm, school day/timetable is extremely inefficient. In some schools in America and Scandinavia, many of them open up at 10, 10:30 because they believe that a later start is more beneficial. After all the school timetable, is not set to benefit students, it has been created to benefit working parents who can drop of their kids before work. A rigid, structured, period based timetable with classes divided into 45-50 minutes slots is for the benefit of administrators who need to slot teachers around, not students.
After school tutoring functions best when it breaks this rigidity in the system, and is held at a time when learning is more conducive.
Now the flip side to all of this is based on some valid observations.
a) Teachers dumb down lessons in class and want students to attend their academy later: This is ethically suspect and morally wrong. This questions the professionalism of the teacher involved, and can be argued is bad practise and teaching. However, this is hardly surprising given the pressures and expectations, especially in private schools, where teacher reputation sucks students in and teachers can face massive class sizes where learning is unpractical. However, to demand students pay to attend lessons after school is inexcusable.
b) Heaving subject loads: Back around 2003-2004, atleast in Rawalpindi and Islamabad the craze of sitting 12-14 subjects in O levels 8 or 10 A levels began slowly. Now I believe this practise has proliferated. A levels is meant to be focused study of four subjects. That’s how the curriculum is developed and time allocated. Students who have pushed themselves to take extra subjects do themselves no favours and land up in tutoring agencies. Now, you may say that, 'well the student is showing initiative and doing hard work', but there is also a risk that universities will look at a wide range of subjects as a sign of lack of focus. The ability to sit exams and get good marks or grades, does not automatically translate into the ability to excel as academically or later, professionally. These practices have created a large market for tutoring agencies.
c) Tutoring students you teach: There is also alot of criticism of teachers who tutor their own students and consider such practise bad. But then, if the student is comfortable with that teacher is it then wrong to deny them that option?
Below, I hope to hear from Hassan and then continue in the comments with this discussion.
Full disclosure: I have been a tutor in Pakistan, both one-on-one and in an academy setting.
First of all thank you for writing this blog and thus allowing for a healthy debate to materialize. Unfortunately, accountability has almost vanished from almost every institution, organization, council, govt, etc. Hence paving way for the mindset that we can get away with anything. Discussions and open debates will help us get there and abolish this ridiculous idea.
ReplyDeleteNow Nadir, you have already mentioned a very vital point where you state "Teachers dumb down lessons in class and want students to attend their academy later"... This is true in most schools nowadays if not all. Students & parents alike, have become too reliable on third party institutions for passing their exams.
Rather than providing a better learning experience in the classroom, utilizing the student body strength (possible in more than one), these very teachers refuse to fully use the tool of teaching just so they can acquire more clients.
If these very faculty member can make academies work why can't they do the same thing at school?
It's only to maintain a steady number of satisfied clientele(students and parents).
We didn't have these academies 20, 30 years ago. We were doing quite well. In fact the quality of education was way better prior to these after school institutions.
I'll have to agree with you on the point that some students might need a little extra help in math, science etc but this is not the case.
I dont think the comparison between the present and the past is fair. Access to education was much lower, and especially at schools with priveledged access. Also the demands were much lower then. 2A's and 6 B's used to be considered a good resul 10-15 years ago, but today, 8 A's is not considered good enough.
DeleteAlso, given the limited number of educational institutions offering say O, A levels, or senior cambridge and junior cambridge 20 years ago, there were more teachers to go around.
Also, I think depending on which part of the country you live, tutoring academies in one form or the other have been around for a long time. Especially in Karachi if I a not wrong.
As for the traditional "Master saab" making the rounds of different homes, those tutors have been around for a very long time.
I agree with the one on one tutoring being around for a long time.
DeleteBut all in all, if we a uniform educational systems in Pakistani institutions, each adhering to its respective curriculum and focusing on teacher training, proper time allocation of subjects, career counseling, aptitude tests, adequate teacher to student ratio we wouldn't need these "alpha beta" academies.
You also talked about extracurricular activities; my school had after hour clubs (music, sports, literature, and so on). My point still being if the schools are efficient enough and really do regard the education as the topmost priority of their students (regardless whether its the A-O level system(British curriculum), American curriculum, or the Pakistan Federal board) school time would suffice in order to prepare the children in pursuits of higher education.
The people of Pakistan are being taken advantage of in almost all aspects of daily life, the least we can do is leave education out of it. We have all donned the consistently prevailing profession of con artists, as teachers, health care providers, politicians, entrepreneurs...
DeleteI think you shouldnt juduge everything in comparison to your own experiences. That is perhaps the weakest insight into education policy, as alot of people (whether rightly or wrongly) comment on education, based on their own experiences.
DeleteEvery child learns at a different pace. To say that if X, Y and Z is present that will be satisfactory isnt going to work.
I also dont agree that schools "would suffice in order to prepare the children in pursuit of hifgher education". We shouldnt be looking at schools as a production line where they churn students out to be fed into higher education.
A school means many things to different people. Now, if someone builds his confidence, self esteem and communication in school, even if that means not paying attention to studies but on extracurricular and everything else, then chooses to focus on academics after school, its not for anyone to say thats right or wrong.
What I think you are most concerned about, is the exploitative aspect of tutions, that if the teachers performed well in school there wouldnt be a need for tutoring...I agree in a perfect world yes.
But in Pakistan, even in the best schools that wont work. My reasons are as follows:
a) we have an entire generation of children who are perhaps first generation, entering private education or sitting O an A levels, many parents who are not aware of the system abrogate their responsibility towards their children's education to tutors, because they are not in a position to help their children.
b) Parents education attainment is a big determinant of children's academic success. Similarly, some studies argue that access to books at home at an early age adds 10% to grade performance over an academic cycle.
This would mean that students whose parents are not well educated or well off, would be falling behind their peers from age 5/6 not O and A levels, if tutoring helps bridge the gap then thats a good thing. Governments, can control the schools but not the home environment.
c) Alot of parents, for all the best of intentions, arrange tutoring for their children because they substitute time spent "studying" and money spent on their children with quality, there will always be a market. If we start discouraging people from tutoring, it will be the weakest students who will drop out first, the best from the most affluent backgrounds would continue, and the divide would grow.
correction: possible in more WAYS than one*
ReplyDeletemhawan, why would they want to leave education out of it. If education got fixed, they would find it very hard to hold on to the power they hold so dear.
ReplyDeleteNadir, I agree with all of it. One thing I would add is the peer pressure/ social norm it has become to be enrolled in tuition. Ive seen kids sign up for tuition on the first day of class. this is largely due to the social pressure that is created and the fear of the classes being taken. Students are, for some strange reason, under the impression that school is for chilling while tuition centres are where the actual learning takes place.
Agreed! Seen that happen myself. Argue above at 01:31 pm
DeleteWhether we NEED academies or not is debatable, and one can argue about the advantages and disadvantages. However, private tutoring/academies can be quite helpful, particularly for students who are struggling in core areas such as mathematics and natural sciences.
ReplyDeleteStudents taking tuitions (one-to-one and In-class)can be classified into roughly three categories(based on observation), a)High-achievers who are trying to gain few extra marks by improving/revising their exam/study technique, b) Students with learning difficulties, c) Students who don't meet the required competency/skill level for their current modules, mainly due to poor teaching in junior grades.
Private tutoring which was mainly utilized by category (B) and (C) students, is now also being utilized by category (A) students as a performance enhancement tool. This is mainly due to the ever increasing pressure on High school students to perform/score better, not only to meet university admission requirements, but also to have an edge over hundreds of other university applicants who are competing for extremely limited places on top undergrad programmes (also applies to Post-Grad. GMAT prep. academies et al.)
There are several other factors that have lead to the rise of the academy, as discussed earlier in the comments/posts. However, in my opinion, it is the ever increasing social pressure to perform better, make it to the top school and increasing number of applicants-per-place that is driving a large number of students towards tuitions/crash courses etc.
I dont understand why tutoring is "particularly helpful for students in core areas such as mathematics and natural sciences", why is everything else easy?
ReplyDeleteAnyways, yes, agreed, its social pressure, and its also a confidence game. Alot of tutoring is about building confidence, if you are in a class full of students taking tuitions, and only a handful are not, that can be a very intimidating position to be in.
Further, students who are not confident to speak up in class, or feel overwhelmed by more vocal students may find tutoring more comfortable for them personally.
The big problem for education in Pakistan is that basic education in Pakistan is very very weak, and people do not focus on building young children's curiousty, confidence and self learning abilities. These "disabilities" then remain throughout a students academic life. That means that many students are not equipped with the skills and adequate preparedness to sit higher classes, and then need extra support.
An excellent point that you've mentioned Nadir, is the role the parent's education and the environment at home play in the academic development of a child. If we have educated parents, with access to books at home, it would make the job a lot easier for the teachers in shaping a better future for their students.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to carry a conversation, debate, discuss in a social playground is greatly dependent on an individual's interests, information, awareness, and the ability to mingle. The core requirement is confidence and knowledge. These grounds for a well spoken, well read person, someone who make a rational statement, address both sides of the coin, can be established right at home.
My parents would play board games with me from an early age, would involve me in family discussions, encourage me to read newspapers. This helped in more ways than one; these activities helped me sharpen my cognitive abilities, to stand my ground and maintain my position on my opinions and exercise my rights.
Basically, all these things made the job a lot easier for teachers who of course were required to provide an even friendlier environment than that available at home. (A public school next door had the teachers using physical force on students which in my opinion is unjustifiable).
I agree with you on so many levels but i still stand by the fact that the exploitative aspect of these academies is really their main driving force and the primary objective is money, money, money...
The objective may be to make money. But to say ban them or restrict access to them would be akin to telling someone that wants access to such services that sorry you cant use them tough luck.
DeleteLets take an analogy...doctors at government hospitals are not incompetent or bad, but why do people who can afford it go to private hospitals which can charge astronomical amounts for a consultation?
The issue is off perception, lack of resources at a government hospital, and the placebo affect of paying extra, receiving a little bit extra attention at a private hospital.
Now the private hospitals may be exploitative in terms of fees, but no one is going to argue that they should be shut down even if there is demand to cater for.
There are so many other things that need to happen, before teachers can be blamed for being exploitative and unethical in their practices.
Also, tutoring is very demand driven, for every one succesful teacher/tutor they are 20 others who cant make ends meet.
No we cannot ban them and definitely cannot restrict access and neither was that my objective. And not all teachers are unethical or exploitative, but that does not exempt the ones who are. The educational ministries/councils must be more regulatory in terms of refinement/inspections in order to maintain a certain standard at schools thus providing a better quality of education. Now for those students who struggle in certain areas of academics, yes, academies and tutors are a godsend. there should be no doubt about that.
ReplyDeleteThose "so many other things" that need to happen are part of a growing predicament since they're NOT happening.
Let's just hope that before things go FURTHER out hand, conditions may take a turn for the better. Education is key to the success of our country! Quality, unbiased, affordable education!
Agreed, but I think alot of other things need attention, and whether or not tutors are exploitative or not, is a side issue given the wider concerns of an inefficient, unproductive and unequal educational system in the country. Also we need to avoid the lure of quick fix solutions, the problem with reforming education or even say healthcare is that the politicans who will implement the reforms wont be around by the time the results become obvious. This will be a decade or longer reform process, or rather constant reform, and frankly no one has the political will, nor public demand to actually do anything about it. Too many vested interests insuring that things remain just as they are.
ReplyDeleteYou are Clearly mentioned what you think. It easily understand to me.
ReplyDeleteU mentioned that teachers dumb lessons to fill up their evening classes its not true in most of the cases. What i have seen that there are many constraint that bars a student from understanding a particular concept taught in the class. It may be his inattentiveness, bad basics, low understanding level, weak retaining power or the student may be slow in learning new concepts. What i believe is that a same concept can be taught to particular child say in ten minutes but some other student may take one hour on that, so what shoud the teacher do with him. How???? It would be dishonesty on the part of teacher that knowing the mental level of the kid he ignores him or her and just carry on. So if he can help him by spending extra time after school than there is no harm in it
ReplyDelete