M M Jasim :
Thousands of teachers are doing coaching business in the country’s educational institutions ignoring the government’ ban on coaching, which was imposed in 2012, Education Ministry sources said.
Many teachers are giving more time to private tuition than classroom teaching. They make students get admitted to coaching centres of their jurisdiction and those who do not enroll there are even harassed in many ways. But the students of unlike well-to-do families and poorer section cannot afford coaching classes for their children, the sources said.
The guardians and the academicians alleged that the teachers inspired the students to get them admitted in the coaching centres for better results. That is why, the students become interested to go to the coaching centres. As a result, the coaching business has become a system of quasi-parallel schooling to diminish the importance and values of institution-based education.
They also blamed the Education Ministry for not taking stern action against the teachers involved in coaching business with a view to stopping it all over the country.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday recommended punishment to 97 school teachers in Dhaka for making money through private coaching centres for decades
Serajul Islam Choudhury, Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University, said the coaching business is unacceptable because it is a discriminatory practice. “But the reality is that no one is there to address it and there are hardly any efforts to stop coaching,’ he said.
He said the teachers do not have any accountability and coaching is one of the reasons for the degradation of classroom teaching.
Abhibhabak Oikya Forum President Ziaul Karim Dulu said the government measures are not enough as many blacklisted and accused teachers are still taking coaching classes flouting the guideline. “There is no supervision as monitoring committees are inactive,’ he said.
Shamsul Islam, a guardian, told The New Nation that he was reluctant to send his son to the coaching centres. But he was compelled to do so as the teachers gave his son poor marks in the examinations.
“Many teachers give more time to coaching ignoring their classroom duties. They take between Tk 800 and Tk 1,500 from each student as fees,” the guardian said.
The New Nation investigation found that teachers of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Rajuk Uttara Model School and College, Ideal School and College, Dhaka Residential Model College, Manipur School and College, Dhaka Collegiate School, Motijheel Model School and College, Holy Cross College, Khilgaon Quality Education School, Khilgaon Ideal School, National Ideal College, Tejgaon College, Dhaka City College and some other institutions have continued giving private tuition to students of their own and other institutions and ran illegal coaching classes at their houses or in rented spaces.
In many areas such as Shilpi Hotel and Amtala Masjid at Shahjahanpur, Siddheswari, Moghbazar, places near Holy Cross School, Farmgate, Indira Road, Shewrapara and Manipur at Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Dolaipar and Shanir Akhra have now become known as coaching centre hubs.
The ACC earlier recommended transferring 522 teachers of 24 schools in the capital, saying they have stayed in the same institutions for years in breach of the guideline.
“Punitive actions should be taken against 97 teachers of eight schools in Dhaka city,” the ACC said. The names of teachers include from Ideal School and College, Motijheel Model School and College, Dhaka Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, and Rajuk School and College.
The names of teachers include also from four government educational institutions — Motijheel Government Boys High School, Motijheel Government Girls High School, Khilgaon Government High School, and Dhanmondi Government Laboratory High School.
The ACC has written to heads of the schools and their governing bodies as well as the Cabinet Secretary, said its spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.
Twenty-five teachers of four public schools and 72 teachers of schools covered by the government’s monthly pay order or MPO scheme, have been found involved with the coaching centres.
The ACC has asked the government to initiate measures against the teachers in line with Education Ministry guidelines. The Education Ministry in June 2012 issued a circular to all schools, colleges and madrassahs with a guideline asking them to ‘stop teachers’ from coaching business in educational institutions.
ACC investigators filed their findings in November the same year, when it recommended transferring over 500 school teachers saying they have been teaching at the same institution for 10 to 33 years in breach of the guideline for transfer every three years
The report cited political influence, lobbying and unethical financial transactions as the key factors.
It says the teachers provided administrative officials with unethical facilities to remain in the same institutions for decades by earning a ‘huge’ amount of money through the private coaching centres.
Thousands of teachers are doing coaching business in the country’s educational institutions ignoring the government’ ban on coaching, which was imposed in 2012, Education Ministry sources said.
Many teachers are giving more time to private tuition than classroom teaching. They make students get admitted to coaching centres of their jurisdiction and those who do not enroll there are even harassed in many ways. But the students of unlike well-to-do families and poorer section cannot afford coaching classes for their children, the sources said.
The guardians and the academicians alleged that the teachers inspired the students to get them admitted in the coaching centres for better results. That is why, the students become interested to go to the coaching centres. As a result, the coaching business has become a system of quasi-parallel schooling to diminish the importance and values of institution-based education.
They also blamed the Education Ministry for not taking stern action against the teachers involved in coaching business with a view to stopping it all over the country.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday recommended punishment to 97 school teachers in Dhaka for making money through private coaching centres for decades
Serajul Islam Choudhury, Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University, said the coaching business is unacceptable because it is a discriminatory practice. “But the reality is that no one is there to address it and there are hardly any efforts to stop coaching,’ he said.
He said the teachers do not have any accountability and coaching is one of the reasons for the degradation of classroom teaching.
Abhibhabak Oikya Forum President Ziaul Karim Dulu said the government measures are not enough as many blacklisted and accused teachers are still taking coaching classes flouting the guideline. “There is no supervision as monitoring committees are inactive,’ he said.
Shamsul Islam, a guardian, told The New Nation that he was reluctant to send his son to the coaching centres. But he was compelled to do so as the teachers gave his son poor marks in the examinations.
“Many teachers give more time to coaching ignoring their classroom duties. They take between Tk 800 and Tk 1,500 from each student as fees,” the guardian said.
The New Nation investigation found that teachers of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Rajuk Uttara Model School and College, Ideal School and College, Dhaka Residential Model College, Manipur School and College, Dhaka Collegiate School, Motijheel Model School and College, Holy Cross College, Khilgaon Quality Education School, Khilgaon Ideal School, National Ideal College, Tejgaon College, Dhaka City College and some other institutions have continued giving private tuition to students of their own and other institutions and ran illegal coaching classes at their houses or in rented spaces.
In many areas such as Shilpi Hotel and Amtala Masjid at Shahjahanpur, Siddheswari, Moghbazar, places near Holy Cross School, Farmgate, Indira Road, Shewrapara and Manipur at Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Dolaipar and Shanir Akhra have now become known as coaching centre hubs.
The ACC earlier recommended transferring 522 teachers of 24 schools in the capital, saying they have stayed in the same institutions for years in breach of the guideline.
“Punitive actions should be taken against 97 teachers of eight schools in Dhaka city,” the ACC said. The names of teachers include from Ideal School and College, Motijheel Model School and College, Dhaka Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, and Rajuk School and College.
The names of teachers include also from four government educational institutions — Motijheel Government Boys High School, Motijheel Government Girls High School, Khilgaon Government High School, and Dhanmondi Government Laboratory High School.
The ACC has written to heads of the schools and their governing bodies as well as the Cabinet Secretary, said its spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.
Twenty-five teachers of four public schools and 72 teachers of schools covered by the government’s monthly pay order or MPO scheme, have been found involved with the coaching centres.
The ACC has asked the government to initiate measures against the teachers in line with Education Ministry guidelines. The Education Ministry in June 2012 issued a circular to all schools, colleges and madrassahs with a guideline asking them to ‘stop teachers’ from coaching business in educational institutions.
ACC investigators filed their findings in November the same year, when it recommended transferring over 500 school teachers saying they have been teaching at the same institution for 10 to 33 years in breach of the guideline for transfer every three years
The report cited political influence, lobbying and unethical financial transactions as the key factors.
It says the teachers provided administrative officials with unethical facilities to remain in the same institutions for decades by earning a ‘huge’ amount of money through the private coaching centres.
