In recent years, many coaching and admission centres have popped up all over Bangladesh for students of all grades. Parents nowadays hope to get their children ahead of the syllabus and readily enrol them in these centres, and many students also aim to get into the best batches or courses possible. What does this commercialisation of education and coaching culture tell us about our education system, and is its impact on the system and its future positive or negative?
This culture has embedded itself into our academic lifestyle for various reasons. It is an open secret that the quality of Bangladesh's education system is not the best. We may be producing some excellent scientists, doctors and engineers through our universities, but the quality of education in many of our schools and colleges is lacking. This leaves many students feeling that their time in class is wasted and that they would learn better at home or at a coaching centre, so they end up enrolling in the physical or online courses these centres offer. Unfortunate as it is, we must admit, with some shame, that more often than not the courses at these centres help students understand the material better than their schools or colleges do.
Additionally, many parents in our country have an extremely harmful habit of treating education and marks as a competition. This is somewhat justified given our education system and job sector, and the mentality is prevalent in many Asian countries, but it has also made its way into Bangladesh. It may stem from the fact that many parents of the millennial and Gen Z generations did not have as fortunate a childhood or youth as we do, and did not have as many opportunities to do things freely. They have seen, and are aware of, the "survival of the fittest" system of our country, and they hope to set us up for success by ingraining that mentality in us. Nonetheless, they forget that the main purpose of education is to teach us not only academics but also morals, manners and values, among other things. Our education system is partly to blame for that as well.
These coaching centres and courses do help many students who cannot understand their material properly because of a lack of study material or other reasons, and they give students exam practice they would otherwise not get. But they have also created a reluctance to attend school and college, which seem useless when coaching centres and one-shot courses can teach better and prepare students more effectively for school, college and board exams. Although there is some truth to this, by focusing only on exams students forget that schools and colleges are not just educational institutions. They also serve as social hubs where students interact with people of different backgrounds and religions, and as places to venture beyond the syllabus and take part in sports and extracurriculars. Admittedly, many of our schools and colleges lack such an environment or such facilities.
The ever-increasing number of private coaching centres in our country shows how much demand there is for them among students and parents. It also shows the failure of our education system, which has made parents and students believe that the classes they attend are not meaningful or helpful enough. Although coaching can help many students, in many cases it may end up being a huge waste of time, money and potential, without the students or their parents ever realising it.
Ultimately, these centres are having a negative impact on the mentality of our students and parents, even if they are having a somewhat positive impact on students' grades. I believe that if this system continues as it is, coaching centres and courses will come to be seen as a replacement for our schools and colleges, which will become mere places to register for board exams. The quality of our education system and curriculum must be properly addressed, so that students no longer depend on coaching centres for their education or for good marks, and need them only for additional or advanced study at best. If we keep focusing only on marks, who will keep an eye on what we are actually learning, and whether we are learning anything valuable at all?
