It seems that the education has turned into an industry as
coaching centers which offer better pay to teachers are robbing private schools of
their teaching talents. This is becoming a trend that bodes ill for students.
Those who teach the basic subjects are offered a whopping Rs
80,000-Rs 1.5 lakh by coaching and tuition centers monthly while schools can
offer up to Rs 50000 average. That's why teachers prefer coaching centers
especially those of classes 10 and 12, and mostly in CBSE- and ICSE-affiliated
schools.
According to K P Gopalakrishna, chairman of National Public
Schools (NPS) in Bengaluru, schools are finding it difficult as there are no
replacements. His group lost 18 teachers in the past two years (especially
those with expertise in physics, chemistry, maths and biology). He pays his
teachers over Rs 50000 but teachers are either teaching in coaching centers or
opening their own centers posing a problem for schools.
Even Delhi Public School (DPS) lost 15% of its teachers. According
to Mansoor Ali Khan, member of the board of management, schools cannot afford
to pay higher packages to teachers as they are medium-budget ones. In order to
retain teachers, schools would have to increase the fees for students by 15 to
20% which will be a burden on parents.
The recruitment criteria of private schools are that the
teacher should not only hold BEd degrees but also post graduation degree with
minimum experience of three years.
The coaching centers offer attractive annual pay packages of
Rs 10 lakh to Rs 18 lakh with a lower workload and relatively flexible hours.
The founder principal of Bengaluru's Harvest International
School, Dakshayini Kanna, said that a teacher either can take organic or
inorganic chemistry at these centres. But in schools, they have to teach both
while preparing question papers as well.
Another principal, (principal of Little Flower Public
School), Gayethri Devi added that it's a dangerous trend with teachers teaching
in centers instead of schools depriving schools of their talents as she faced
the same in her school.
Tags: Education Industry
School Vs Coaching
Teachers Quality In Schools
Education Times
