RECENTLY, I have seen an exponential rise in the number of students taking after-school tuitions for various subjects. This is now more a fad among the urban population instead of being a medication for a need.

Nowadays, school has just become a registration portal for board examinations, whereas tuition or coaching centres have taken up the role of schools and are quite successful in producing good students.

Here again, the number of students is at the end of suffering, as they are missing the deep social aspect of regular schooling. From teachers’ perspective, teachers are not paid high enough to maintain a satisfactory lifestyle and hence they opt for side incomes. For this reason, they lower their standards at schools to ensure full attendance at tuition centres. In addition, students consider tuition centres as saviour because at the end of the day, whatever we all say, we all aim to score high in professional, matriculation and inter examinations. And to achieve this, parents pay both a regular school fee along with a heavy tuition fees for a better future of their children.

The key to discouraging the tuition culture is in the hands of the government, educationists and parents.

Schools should respect the dignity of the teaching profession and should pay teachers a good salary.

KHURRAM J. KHAN Karachi