Classes apart from schools and colleges have been a thing of aspiration recently. Most students and parents choose very wisely which educational institute is to be selected for their kid. In the recent past, say since about 15 years, private coaching institutions hold almost the same value as much as a reputed college does. What does this indicate? Private coaching classes have managed to carve a niche and garner a reputation for themselves in this highly competitive and crowded `market space`. I call it a market space because the seats are up for grabs. To get into a very reputed private coaching class, a student must have to justify his/her credentials. A student has to prove that they are eligible to get into one. Competition to get into a school or college of choice was not enough!
As surprising as it may sound, it is the truth. Is it fair though? We cannot judge that, but this is how popularity and monopoly function in an economy. It’s all about demand and supply. The demand for a better institution is always on the rise, constantly rising and the supply of students year on year goes on increasing. Out of 100 if 90 students decide to study at a single private class, it’s obviously not possible to accommodate them all and then it depends on the private institution to decide who gets in. As a basic principle this sounds very ironical because a student generally goes to private tuition only when he is unable to study on his/her own.
The exact irony that we want to discuss today is this. Why do 90% of private classes focus only on top 10% of the students?
Everyone has the right to education. Everyone who is especially paying humongous amounts to get into a private tuition has the right to education. Everyone enters with the same aspiration to score well and get into the university of their choice. Not every student has the same caliber and this is the only job of the private tuition givers to make sure that each and every student get the same kind of attention, gets the same kind of education and possibly fare well in the exams. While we agree that not every student is going to score a 100 percent, but every student should be presented with the same opportunity where they are capable to score a 100 percent.
I want to state an example of a high school student. She was a brilliant student, but she was completely struggling with Mathematics. Since her childhood mathematics was the only subject which stopped her from getting into the top rankers of her class. However, when you are at the end of your high school and about to enter the university, it becomes crucial to get good grades especially in the competitive exams. This is when she decided to join a private class which was quite reputed, producing top rank holders and 100th percentile students every year. She aced in all the subjects, however in that private tuition, she got introduced to the most brilliant mathematics teacher ever. He made mathematics everybody’s cup of tea. Each and every student could understand what he was teaching and he made sure that everyone would learn equally. This professor focused on every student and not just the brilliant students, this was his USP. After the regular classes were over and if some students needed extra attention, he would spend more time with them and make sure no student goes home with a single doubt. All his students scored well in mathematics. The students whose average score used to be 50 reached an average score of 75 and the students whose average score was 75 could easily touch a 90-100. The girl who never scored more than 60 in mathematics all though her school, managed to score a 98. This is what is expected of a teacher, a coach in a private class. To turn around every student and not just those who are already good scorers.
Across the websites there are advertisements for these private tuitions, highlighting the names of students who have scored amazingly with their brilliant photographs, but rarely do they highlight the progress made. For purely marketing and economic reasons extra attention is paid to those students who can earn accolades and in turn boost the name and fame of these institutes. What instead can be done is , ensure every student has made some progress. Isn’t that the basic reason why the private tuitions have been invented?
At Champs Learning they follow a very simple model. Every student is treated equal and every student is paid attention to in a similar way. They agree and accept that every student learns and understands at a different pace hence we believe in monitoring the progress in a periodic manner. If a low scoring student scores average that is progress made and if an average student scores high, well, then its job well done. If a high scorer maintains his grades with our help, that indeed is good enough.
As surprising as it may sounds, statistics have shown that with the help of a right teacher any student can excel. Hard work always beats talent. If the student gets the right coach, the right mentor, no matter how the student is, he/she will excel. Competition is necessary and healthy competition is a must. Competition is what motivates every individual and it’s this competition that often determines comparative success.
The general phenomenon of focusing on top 10% of the students’ needs to take a break and the private tuitions should now come down to their basic purpose of imparting education and helping every student grow equally. If this follows, maybe the real potential of the student as well as the private tuition givers can be accessed and the students and parents can fairly decide where to invest.