The falling quality of Mainstream Edu'n- Exclusive survey by ASSOCHAM

New Delhi: Desire to stay ahead in the global economy and the falling quality of mainstream education system, a whopping 87% of primary school children and up to 95% students in high schools receive private tutoring in metros, reveals an exclusive survey by ASSOCHAM.

The proportions of children relying on private tuition have increased by 100% for the students of primary schools from 2006 to 2013. On the other hand, secondary school enrollments for private tuitions have also gone up by 92% from 2006 to 2013. The growth of primary levels tuition is higher than the secondary levels in the last six to seven years.

The Associated chamber of commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) recent survey on "Business of private coaching centers in India" revealed that private tuitions have become a multi-billion rupee industry which recorded a growth of 35 per cent in the last five years in India. The current size of private coaching industry in India is about $23.7 billion and likely to touch $40 billion by 2015.

The survey based on response from 5,000 students and parents in March-May across 12 cities (200 respondents in each city) of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh further revealed that the majority of middle class parents has been spending one third of their monthly income on private tuitions for their wards do better in their examinations and prepare them for competitive entrance exams for professional courses.

The rise is not only some increase in incomes and the affordability of having private tuition, but also an intensification of the general conviction among the parents that private tuition is "unavoidable" with peer pressure building up on the students and parents alike, said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM.

Majority of parents rely on private tuition for primary class and secondary class in addition to attending classes at school. Over 86% of parents said that they have to rely on tuitions at earliest due to lack of time or because they are ill-equipped to teach their children. For them, private coaching classes come in handy.

The working parents share that they have to spend half or sometimes even a whole day away from the homes, and this makes difficult for them to pay due attention to their children, quoted 85% of working parents. Over five Lakhs of private tutors are active in Delhi-NCR currently, and with competition for increased admission intake into the best colleges intensifying, the demand for private tuition is rising continuously, adds the survey.

The survey further reveals that many of the best teachers of reputed schools and colleges have left their jobs and taken up private coaching, for the simple reason that the monthly income of good tutors is equal to the annual salaries of school teachers, adds the survey.

The paper further highlighted that private tutors charge Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000 per hour per student on the one-to-one basis while group tuition cost Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 per month, the survey said. It estimated that 78 per cent of parents spend Rs 1,000 to 3,000/-per month on tuition for each primary-level child while secondary-level monthly tuition cost parents about Rs 5,000 and above.

Nearly 92 per cent tutors reported that parents want to compensate for "perceived deficiencies in the state school system while 85 per cent attributed the rise in their business to the exam-anxiety factor among students. Examination phobia, too, has given a push to the private tuition industry, adds the ASSOCHAM survey.

"It has become the common solution for parents who want their children to excel academically. The boom in tuition centers is easily attributed to the perception that the country's education system is flawed", adds Mr. Rawat.

Many parents feel that private tuition providing that extra push when needed because school teachers have too many classes and too little time for individual attention, adds the ASSOCHAM paper. Today, even high-caliber students sign up for private tuition to score the 96-99 percent cut-off averages demanded by best colleges. The education system is becoming increasingly competitive and examination-oriented.

Private tutorial is expanding at an alarming rate in tier-II and tier-III and spending staggering portions of their incomes on it, reveals the ASSOCHAM recent report. Private tuitions and coaching centres in metros have become a profitable business without any fear of loss, which is the main reason of having a number of tuition centres mushrooming on streets of mega city, adds the ASSOCHAM paper.

"Private tutoring further disadvantages children from lower income families and only serves the needs of those who can afford to support the industry that has grown up around tutoring. Children should be able to access the education they are fully entitled to, rather than just the education they can afford", said Mr. Rawat.

Press Release.