A decree issued by an underground organisation banning private tuitions by government teachers is a much belated educational 'reform'. Though the legality of such initiatives is questionable-came as they from the barrel of the gun-the implications are heart warming. The malaise of private tuition has been so deeply entrenched in our educational system that only an iron handed measure would free the students from such a daily process of self-ruination. Sounds overboard?

There are reasons why private tuition can be self ruinous for students. First, it takes away the self learning drive of the students which is important for developing their cognitive capability. Creativity, conception of new ideas and analysis of complex problems need a substantial amount of self reasoning that no tutor can teach or imbibe in you. At best a tutor can clarify difficult concepts for a student, but thinking, understanding and further abstract investigation of the matter rest on the student. To question and challenge the existing beliefs and to reopen old debates which is the hallmark of a progressive mind - these can be done only when one can think for himself and stop believing every word of the teacher as the ultimate truth.

When we look back into the human history, the most outstanding human achievements took place when people rebelled against the established beliefs and notions. The 14th century Italy is a testimony of this irrefutable fact. During this period, the Renaissance began in Italy and threw up great thinkers like Erasmus, Petrarch and Machiavelli; scientists like Archimedes, Copernicus and Galileo; artists like Raphael and Michelangelo and genius like Leonardo da Vinci. Not coincidentally, this was a period when people broke away from conventional ideas which for centuries had been taken for granted as truth. With a combination of observation, theory and practice, men imbued with awesome originality and creativity propounded new ideas that defied the prevailing belief-system dominated then by the Catholic Church. In hindsight, the Renaissance would not have taken place had people not opposed to the lies and incorrect dogmas spoon-fed to them.

However this is not to say that private tutors are feeding strings of lies to the students. The point is that private tutors are depriving the students of their luxury to think on their own toes which is crucial for developing a spirit of inquisitiveness, creativity and intellectual defiance.

Secondly, apart from damaging the fecundity of the students, the culture of private tuitions partially contribute to the deteriorating quality of teaching in schools and colleges. Believing that most of the students go to tuition houses, teachers at schools and colleges do not find enough motivation to teach the students to his/her optimal potential and consequently become slack in delivering lectures. The hapless students from poor socio-economic background who could not afford the private tuitions are the ones who suffer adversely from this dumping down of quality of education. For the rest of the students, they tend to neglect the classes at school/college in the hope that they will pick up the loose ends at tuition classes. Coincidentally and often by design, in most of the cases, their private tutors happen to be the same teachers at their school/college.

Thirdly, it is a great wastage of money, time and energy to engage private tutors or to join a tuition house run by business minded teachers. Enrolling in a tuition house has become such a universal fashion that a student not doing so feels inadequate and in worse case may experience an inferiority complex. The argument that private tuitions can give a student that extra competitive edge in this age of stiff competition where every mark counts is no longer valid. It is NO longer ONLY you that is taking advantage of private tutors, every Dick and Harry does. This begs the question: where is that competitive edge that private tuition was supposed to give you?

The fourth reason is that the quality of the private tuition itself has become questionable. Crass commercialization is the phrase that comes to my mind whenever I think of private tuitions. The ratio of teacher to students in tuition houses has bloated to unacceptable limits. Often due to the sheer number of students in a batch, the tutor fails to give personal attention to the students. But one aspect of the tuition is sacrosanct and uncompromisable: you have to fork out a fortune each month to your good tutor.

Parents are an inscrutable lot. Their expectations from their wards are often inordinately high and misplaced. "I could not become a doctor but my son will" kind of mindset that parents have is what lies at the bottom of the problem of tuition culture. Though it is quite legitimate for parents to wish to see their kids excel in studies, they should not also lose touch with reality. Offspring should not be seen as a means of redemption for their own past shortcomings. Encourage your ward, provide moral and material assistance, guide him but dear me never never force him to achieve miracles that he is not capable of. Every individual is unique and somewhere inside him there is a latent potential lying hidden. It is the parents' duty to spot that out and nurture it to fruition. Parents' duty does not end with sending their children to tuition houses. Parenting is much more than that.

In the ultimate analysis, the solution lies in improving the educational standards by enforcing stricter work culture among the teachers in schools and colleges. The noble profession of teaching is not just a job for earning a livelihood, it also carries with it social responsibilities and civic duties in nation building. Having said this, we should not expect the teachers to remain forever diligent, especially in our present shape of state economy which can't even disperse salaries for the teachers on time. The teachers are no saints but humans like us. They have their frustrations and limitations, and mouths to feed and hearth to keep burning in the house. The state has a special obligation towards fulfilling the basic needs of the teacher's community.

It is NOT all the teachers but only a small group from them who are in the line of fire. I hold them responsible for prostituting the hallowed profession of teaching. The teachers belonging to this group are led only by greed and motivated by prospects of easy money that tuition business offers them. Running tuition centers in itself can be condoned to an extent, but subordinating their duties in schools/colleges to the more lucrative affairs outside the classrooms is an un-teacher like conduct that massacres all the values that the profession of teaching stands for. Few crimes can be more condemnable than this. Parasitic, white collar prostitutes, greed incarnates …………….(add your own adjectives and nouns along the dotted line). No doubt these teachers have a vested interest in lowering the quality of education in the classrooms to swell their private classroom in their home lawns/backyards.

To this criticism, some vocal teachers may hit back glibly that they are only responding to the demands of the students and parents. But wait a minute, it is like saying since there is a demand for prostitutes in Imphal, we should actually encourage prostitution. It is not about demand; it is about what is right and judging what constitutes things harmful to society that is at the heart of the matter. It all boils down to the fact that the tuition culture is awfully wrong and should be curbed. And above all, education is not a commercial enterprise that should be dictated by the demand and supply theory of Adam Smith. Education is not a commodity in the marketplace.

On the contrary, tuition business has been relegated to the status of just another industry that rides piggyback on the deteriorating quality of education in the state. Part of the solution is to impose a blanket ban on private tuitions by both government teachers and those from private institutions. Restraining only the former group and encouraging the latter is tantamount to merely replacing the old guards with new ones and doesn't address the root of the problem. It will give an illusionary impression of a "reform" on the surface, but in reality it will perpetuate the tuition culture with all its attendant ills.

However, I fully concur with the logic behind permitting special coaching programmes for specific and professional/entrance examinations like that of MBBS, UPSC, NDA, etc. Such short term coaching program is aimed at preparing and familiarizing a candidate with the form and pattern of a particular examination rather than on the core content of the subject matter. Beyond a certain point even such crash courses are superfluous.

Recently, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen conducted a study on the tuition culture and its impact on education in West Bengal. After analyzing all the pros and cons of the issue, he came to the conclusion that tuition culture creates a divide between the students of well heeled family and poor socio-economic background and lowers the overall quality of education especially in state run educational institutions. He recommended a blanket ban on teachers offering tuition services to the students for a fee.

This finding also applies to Manipur and so is his remedy. How long shall we wait for the wisdom to dawn on us?