Rein in private tuition centres, UGC tells Delhi government

New Delhi: The Delhi government has asked school and university authorities to ensure that students do not have to depend on expensive tuition classes, following instructions from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The UGC had earlier shot letters to the Delhi government agencies to rein in the private tuitions or coaching centres in the city. Citing a proposal received by the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry, the higher education funding agency in its letter on September 16, 2016, said that mushrooming of tuition centres have adversely affected the “quality of education” and students from the “poor financial background”. It had also sought setting up of a board to regulate the functioning of private tuition classes.

As per a recent government circular, it is incumbent on the directorate of education (DoE) — which manages the city’s public schools — and authorities of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Ambedkar University, and National Law University in Dwarka and 12 fully-funded Delhi University colleges to curb the growing dependence of students on tuition centres.

The private tuition centres are charging arbitrary fees, the UGC noted. It said that these centres are flourishing in connivance with school and teachers who egg their students to take tuition classes.

Rishabh Choudhary, Commerce stream topper from a Delhi government schools in 2014, recalled that nearly eve-ryone in his class of 50-60 students took Mathe-matics tuition before the Class 12 board exams. “Many also took tuition classes for Economics and Accountancy. But barely a few took classes for English and Business Studies,” he said, adding that tuition centres cha-rged anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 16,000 for a crash course in a single subject. He is currently studying Eco (Hons.) at Hansraj College.

“Tuition centres are mushrooming in the city and it is spoiling the real spirit of schooling,” Monachan K.K., the principal of Montfort School, said.

He also said that his school faculties are under orders from the school not to give tuition classes to students from the school.

“My students usually take coaching classes for IIT and medical entrance exams. For school curriculum, some take private tuition classes for subjects like Physics and Chemistry,” he added.

Currently, there is no regulatory body in the city to oversee the functioning of private tuition centres. As per the UGC, MP Krupal Balaji Tumane had urged the former HRD minister, Smriti Irani, to set up a board to register tuition centres, fix their fee structure and frame guidelines for their functioning.