We welcome the move by Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid who has proposed to slap a ban on the private coaching racket that has allowed for many teachers to take teaching out of the classroom into the private domain. While an Act may be formulated to give the government decision a legal basis, things can only improve if the initiative by the ministry to modify 12 textbooks of Classes 9 and 10 goes through without a hitch.
Indeed the concerned minister stated so recently at a press briefing that his ministry has formed two committees comprising academicians to review the curriculum and modify some textbooks and the work began last January after a series of stakeholder meetings held since May last year.
Our observation on the flurry of activity is that all is good if the simplification process goes through and recommendations made by the committees are actually implemented. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the hugely profitable private coaching industry will not take any of this lying down, but at the end of the day, it is necessary for the ministry to stand firm on the issue of quality education.
It is high time that textbooks are made student-friendly so that students may comprehend easily what is written. It is also imperative that school authorities be strict in their monitoring of teachers to ensure that the latter impart lessons with diligence at the classroom and not outside the schooling system. Only then can we hope to tackle the hugely damaging business of guidebooks and private coaching which is a massive drain on parents’ incomes and a practice wholly unethical.
