Deepkamal KaurLudhiana, April 14
Despite instructions to the contrary, many college teachers of the city are doing a brisk business in private tuitions at homes and in academies set up by them in the names of their kin.
With entrance tests to several engineering and medical colleges barely a month away, college teachers, especially those working in science departments of various colleges, are busy taking coaching classes from early morning till late in the night.
One such professor of physics, working at GGN Khalsa College, is working in association with two other retired professors of chemistry and maths from the same college. While the academy is being run at his house, the other two professors have been managing the academy, at least on the papers.
Another professor of the History Department of the same college is running an academy for spoken English and personality development at Model Town in the name of his wife.
Yet another botany lecturer working in Guru Nanak Girls’ College, Model Town, gives tuitions in biology at her husband’s private academies at Model Town and Bharat Nagar.
These are just few instances of lecturers giving private tuitions. Sources reveal that nearly 15 to 20 per cent lecturers at most of the colleges undertake coaching classes after duty hours. They also informed that several lecturers giving private tuitions usually take one to two classes in the college and adjust most of their classes with junior lecturers.
Such lecturers, when asked about the practice, said since the prices were shooting up and increments in salaries had been relevantly low, a supplementary source of income had become a must for them to maintain a certain standard of living in the society. A lecturer of Guru Nanak Girls’ College said that she had not received her salary from the college for the past two months and had she not been giving tuitions, it would have become extremely difficult for her to manage her day-to-day expenses.
They further pointed out that Panjab University in its calendar had a provision to conduct remedial classes for the weak students so that they need not take any tuitions. However, majority of the colleges never manage such classes, forcing the students to join private academies after college hours, they said.
Master Mohan Lal, Minister of Higher Education, Punjab, in his recent visit to the city had said that the government would soon impose a ban on private tuitions at all colleges of the state. However, Professor K.B.S. Sodhi, president, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, said that before imposing such a ban, the government should ensure that all college teachers were paid adequately and timely.
The PCCTU president said that ad hoc teachers and lecturers working on uncovered posts must be exempted, if any ban was to be imposed on private tuitions.
