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Tuition class ban before exams has its pros and cons
View(s):Parents, students and teachers have expressed mixed feelings over a Government decision to ban tuition classes five days prior to public examinations, including the Year 5 scholarship exam to be held today.
Deepali Silva
A section of the students said they believe the move would enable students prepare for the exams in a relaxed frame of mind, while others said that students from certain segments of society would be at a disadvantage.
Nadun Bandaranaike, an A/L student welcomed the move saying “We are students who make early preparations for our examinations, and we believe that this decision will certainly give us a relaxed mind, and help us face the paper better”.
Joanne Desree an O/L student with exams in December, said “Students need to be aware of the task at hand, and work towards it, instead of depending on tuition. At the same time, teachers also need to be accurate in their work to prevent last minute cramming. Every aspect is inextricably intertwined, and for the development of this education system, the government needs to get to the root of it”.
Shaymali Perera also sitting for her O/L‘s in December, said “It is a good thing, as its an important exam students should be allowed to rest easy. Also, students may get discouraged, if they fail to answer something important on the eve of an examination”.
Nadun Bandaranaike
Ms Deepali Silva, 49, mother of an A/L student with exams in 2015, said “Students relying on last minute studying, sit for these exams having memorised answers to question papers given by their tuition masters, guaranteeing them to replicate the main exam paper. And, in instances where these questions do not materialize, those students suffer an injustice”. “Its also not fair by students who prepare well, before the exam, only to find questions being leaked to the idlers”, she added.
The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) said that the ban imposed on tuition classes was aimed at covering the inefficiencies of the Exams Dept, to prevent examination papers being leaked prior to the exam. CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that, if examination papers are leaked to students, it was due to failures on the part of the Exams Dept, and the Dept needs to focus on addressing its
Vincent Mervin Fernando
shortcomings.
According to Stalin, the decision is a restriction of a student’s right to receive an education.
Professional tuition master and Educational author Vincent Mervyn Fernando said, “The brighter outcome of this decision is that students who come to the Examination hall will be more relaxed and able to better face the paper. With regard to the tuition master, if they are unable to cover the syllabus within the two-year span, then they are not fit to teach. This decision certainly prevents those paper scams, while also maintaining the integrity of the Education system”.
“On a darker note, this will not be fair by those poor students who cannot afford the luxury of individual classes and who gravely need that last minute patching up at mass gatherings, for there is nothing to stop those better off from engaging in an individual discussion with the master”, said a concerned Mr. Fernando.
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