Kohima’s private tutors make exorbitant hay while sun shines

KOHIMA, OCTOBER 9 : With the school session drawing to an end, it is that time of the year again when students and parents start to feel the pressure of looming examinations.

Though the spirit of competition is high not only among the students but parents too, especially of high school students, their guardian are often more stressed out than their children—the stress is in terms the mental and the financial. This is even more so when most students in Nagaland consider mathematics and science as difficult subjects, except for some handful of them, tension can run high at the thought of losing a year’s worth of academics.

It was reported that schools in Nagaland have not been able to achieve the desired levels of performance in mathematics and science.
At this point of time, many parents are struggling to find the best tutor available for private tuitions, and ready to sacrifice any amount of fee charged by the tutor. Knowing the predicament of both the students and the parents, tutors in the state’s capital town, Kohima town, are having a field day taking undue advantage by charging exorbitant tuition fees.

Adding to the problem, with no proper mechanism to check this kind of daylight robbery, parents are compelled to give in to the demands of the tutors.

Talking to Eastern Mirror, Amo, a father whose daughter is a class IX student, says that his daughter has been taking private tuitions for Rs 3000 per month, thrice a week for an hour for mathematics. There is a group of students from his daughter’s school who are taking tuitions from the same tutor.

The concerned father said that he was compelled to arrange private tuition as he felt there was no ‘proper teaching’ inside the classroom ‘with too many students.’ He went on to explain that teachers simply ‘ignore even though they know the weakness of a student.’

“In the end we, the parents, suffer as we all want our children to at least to pass the exam,” he said.

Amo felt that the students’ organizations should ‘issue stern warnings and take action’ against tutors who charge exorbitant fees. They must give ‘out some telephone numbers publicly in the newspapers for any complaints to be made,’ he suggested. Doing so would be of great help to all parents, he said.

Ali, whose son is in class X, says she has been paying Rs 4000 per month for her son’s home tuition–and the facility for the tutor includes pick-up and dropping home!

Many parents have the same complaint. They say it is difficult for common people to afford the tuition fees. “Education for our children is becoming too expensive for us,” they said. Apart from the soaring monthly tuition fees, they have to shell out large sum of money for private tuitions.

When contacted, Angami Students’ Union (ASU) president Dievi Yano said to have fixed the tuition fees at Rs 1000 for private/home tuitions and Rs 400 for tuitions at school. It was publicised in the local dailies ‘with a warning of stern action against the defaulters.’

However, he said it had become difficult for the union to initiate action against tutors who charge exorbitant fees: parents never come forward with complains and readily give in to the demands of the tutors.

When contacted, a tutor reluctantly disclosed that most of the tutors in Kohima charge not less than Rs 3000 per subject, three or four days for a week of tuitions. Depending on the subject, he said, the tutors charge tuition fees of Rs 3000 for mathematics, science and English.

When asked if there was any teachers’ platform that fixed the tuition fees, he replied in the negative. Queried why they were not following the fee structure fixed by the students’ body, he said all the tutors fix own rate and that too depending on the ‘time-frame’ of the examinations and subject course.

He hinted that tuition fees increase by the months October-to-January, because board examinations are conducted during the month of December and February.

The government authorities, public agencies, and parents can do the calculations.