Parents say schools force them to enrol kids for private classes conducted by teachers on school premises
Parents say schools force them to enrol kids for private classes conducted by teachers on school premises
For the past few years, Suchitra Kshirsagar, whose son Prem is a Std II student of Hume McHenry School in Salisbury Park, had been paying a hefty amount to the school teacher every month. The money charged by the teacher was not the official school fees, but fees for the private tuitions that the child was enrolled in.
Extortion? Parents of schoolchildren say schools have made it
'compulsory' for students who are weak in studies to attend private
tuition classes conducted by class teachers. file pic
What is astounding is that the tuition classes were conducted within the school premises after school hours, and by the same teachers who taught in classrooms during regular hours. It was only after the school failed Prem in Std II that Kshirsagar approached an NGO and realised that it was not only illegal to fail her son but also to take private tuitions within the school premises.
Kshirsagar is not the only one with such a complaint. Many parents like her said the school not only allowed its teachers to take private tuitions but also made it a compulsion in certain cases where students were weak in studies. They said the school claimed extra classes were necessary for these students.
Kanchan Khude, parent of a Std II student, claimed that the schoolteachers charged anything between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 monthly towards tuition fees."If we don't pay, our children are harassed in class. My daughter used to take private tuitions from a teacher but during one particular month, she barely attended two to three days as she was down with asthma. I requested the teacher to take half her tuition fee but she didn't agree and threw my daughter out. In regular school hours, she forbade all other children to talk to my daughter," said a parent of a Std I student, requesting anonymity.
At Chowksy School in Camp, one of the oldest schools in the city, parents had a similar complaint.
According to parents, while they paid Rs 250 to Rs 300 in monthly school tuition fees, they paid double the amount in private tuitions.
"My son is in Std IX now and he takes tuition from his schoolteacher within the school premises after school hours. I pay Rs 400 monthly for all subjects and there are many others like my son. I know that this is not allowed, but, frankly, I don't want any harassment of my son for refusing tuitions," said a businessman, also requesting anonymity. Kamlesh Shah, whose son passed out of Chowksy School last year, said that taking private tuitions was common practice at the school, but parents were too scared to come forward and protest.
What the law says
A STATE resolution in 1997 prohibits teachers from taking private tuitions of students from the same school as they teach. Also, Section 28 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education, 2009, says no teacher shall give private tuition or take up private teaching. If violated, complaint can be made to the Deputy Director of Education or the local education officer and the teacher may even lose service.
The Other Side
BAKUL Bhosale, principal of Seventh Day Adventists' Hume McHenry School, admitted that schoolteachers were allowed to take private tuitions on the school premises. "It was the parents who had approached us with requests to take private tuitions. It was on their request that we allowed teachers to take tuitions in the same classes that they taught. It was a private arrangement between parents and the teachers, with no money coming to the school. All we did was give classrooms, but now we will stop it," he said. Asked if the school conducted extra classes for weak students, he denied it, stating that weak students were coached by teachers in private tuitions on payable basis.
At Chowksy School, despite repeated attempts over the phone and even going to the school on two consecutive days, staffers refused to allow a meeting with principal Neeta Lodhi. They claimed she was not on the premises. A request to speak to any other person who was in charge in the absence of the principal was also not entertained, as the staffers refused to allow entry into the office or give any phone numbers.
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