Proposed act to ban private coaching

In the wake of criticism from the educationists, the government has backtracked on its position of "legalising" coaching out of classroom exercise as it is going to slap a ban on coaching and private tuition in the proposed Education Act.

"The act that we are formulating will not allow coaching business or guidebooks and notebooks," Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told reporters after a meeting with educationists on improving the quality of secondary education at his ministry in the secretariat yesterday.

After formulating the draft of Education Act, the education ministry put it on its website (www.moedu.gov.bd) in April last year to elicit public opinions.

According to the draft, anyone providing private tuition or coaching will have to face punishment. It also stipulated that the government can take necessary measures to stop private tuition and coaching.

The ministry then placed the draft to the cabinet for its approval last year, but suddenly took it back citing for some changes.

In November last year, it was reported that the draft act incorporated a section that apparently legalised coaching and private tuition as "shadow education".

It said the government would frame a separate policy that would control and supervise the shadow education. Shadow education means out of school teaching activities a teacher can offer tutoring to students at a certain place in exchange for money.

Although the draft that was put on website in April last year banned publication of guidebooks for primary or secondary levels, the latest draft said any publisher can publish supplementary books or digital learning tools. After the changes in the latest draft came to the fore, eminent citizens of the country expressed grave concern over the proposals, saying if these sections were incorporated in the act, it would be disastrous for the education system and would go against the main objectives of the Education Policy-2010.

About coaching, they said if coaching out of classroom exercises is being legalised, it will make the classroom-teaching method meaningless.