Coaching Or No Coaching? -Mamta Khandelwal HeadStart

Coaching OR No Coaching? By Mamta Khandelwal - HeadStart

Today, 90% of the student community fears failure in the 10 th / 12 th board exams and they perceive joining tuition classes is the final remedy. Students reason that there is poor attendance of teachers in the schools and that would hamper their score card so it is worthwhile to get help from the tuition classes as they prepare them thoroughly and complete the syllabus. These days, if students haven’t joined any coaching institute means they are in the last hour of the doomsday clock. Such is the terror instilled by the so-called coaching institutes. Only the sheer fear of not having joined any tuition class makes the student get jitters and feel deprived, as they perceive the whole purpose of education is to pass the competitive exams and not anything beyond that.

Students today don’t feel the urge to understand that tuition's are needed only when there is a genuine need for eg. If a student is really weak in Math, he needs to take help through tuitions but not otherwise. Their rigid mindset makes them believe that the ultimate purpose of education for student spending 10-12 years learning through the K12 education system is to prepare for the competitive exams! And so coaching is mandatory. In fact, the whole education system has created an environment non-conducive to self-study and students’ minds are programmed with this thought that tuition's are an essential part of their curriculum and that they cant do anything on their own. There are a plenty of students who think joining a coaching will give them miraculous results and so they as well as their parents are on a constant look out for the best branded coaching institutes in their vicinity which as a matter of fact, helped many private institutions mushroomed all over the country. Similarly, a student from Andhrapradesh State Board is happy to secure higher scores in the 12th grade (90% and above) because he will be able to secure admission easily, but unfortunately lacks the basic common sense, street smartness and conceptual knowledge. This student is definitely unprepared to face the struggles and will not be able to pass the entrance tests like NEET/ JEE or any international competitive tests as they demand competencies in the practical and analytical areas, which he hasn’t learnt during his school curriculum. So whether it is in the school or coaching, the emphasis is put onto the rote learning aspect rather than practical one. If only schools take the authority to impart practical education, there will be no need of extra help or coaching institutes. It is already a known fact that education system in India has a theoretical curriculum apart from a lack of infrastructure, poor student teacher ratio, lack of health and safety measures, bad transport systems etc. The big institutes like Allen/ Akash/ Bansals etc have advertised so strongly the necessity of tuition class that every student and parent have signed up the task religiously and knowingly or unknowingly are a victim of the prevailing herd mentality. It’s a big commercial business out there with plenty of such private institutes getting benefited monetarily as parents are ready to pay high fees only thinking that coaching institutes will help them fulfill their dreams to get their child get into the renowned universities. The worst part is the universities they are dreaming to join like AIIMS/ IITs etc. don’t even rank among top 300 universities of the world!

The whole idea about coaching is the sheer fear in the minds of students as well as their parents what if they fail the competitive exams and hence the coaching! No wonder we are witnessing a great number of drop outs from schools and the number of anxious and depressed students increasing day by day, which clearly shows Coaching is not the solution to educating the young minds. On the contrary it is destructive and spoiling the young generation to become the victim of lost identity. They have forgotten to utilize their full potential and the ability of thinking out of the box. So, a firm NO to the coaching institutes. It is just a business! There are other choices to explore too. People who boast that coaching give students a fair amount of knowledge, confidence and learning which they don't find in the formal structure of education like schools and universities, need to know that the true knowledge can be acquired through self study and/ or referring important study materials, cultural awareness, developing conceptual, self-driving and analytical skills and much more and not through theoretical ways and it is definitely possible if the student is much motivated to take up responsibilities to take a decision to not attend tuition class or and to help himself cope up on his own. This decision making will only be possible with the parents and school co-operation and encouragement. A country’s economy and cultural value is recognized through the youth and the employability as well as happiness data.

For a child’s true development, holistic education, skill enrichment, whether it is a school, a family or a coaching institute, all should promote real world skills and knowledge rather than promoting rote learning. In order to introduce holistic attitude, schools need to control the dummy admissions and reduce student numbers attending coaching classes. Rather each school should invest in quality teachers, teacher incentives, career counseling so that the student gets all the required help to develop his skills and helps himself find the true meaning of education. I urge students and their parents to ask questions to make an educated decision.
They will then understand clearly whether Coaching or No coaching!

Mamta Khandelwal - HeadStart