The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 states in Section 28 that teachers should not be engaged in private tuition. The idea was that teachers should do their best in the classroom. This, unfortunately, is often violated in spite of the government’s efforts. In September 2024, the previous West Bengal government had asked heads of government and government-aided schools to ensure that their teachers did not teach privately. That was not followed up. Now the present government has banned private tuition by teachers of government and government-aided schools. The education department issued an order prohibiting teachers from engaging in private tuition for personal gain in compliance with the RTE Act although they are to help in remedial teaching arranged by the school. If implemented, this could create a healthy teaching environment. The order also mentions a notice from the National Human Rights Commission that teachers who continue to engage in private tuition are violating the RTE Act and the Calcutta High Court directive. It points to the uglier side of private coaching by teachers with the allegation that some teachers exploit students by threatening to lower their marks if they do not take private tuition.

Private coaching by school teachers is unacceptable at many levels. Less attention to classroom teaching and focus on private and gainful teaching affect the standards of teaching within the school system. This, again, keeps the need for private coaching alive. The cycle needs to be broken. But the situation is complicated. The government order also mentions that school teachers conducting private tuition hurt the interests of private teachers. Many of these teachers have no other means of livelihood. The ban would be fair to them, but it also has to be asked whether prohibiting school teachers from conducting private teaching would, as expected, automatically improve the quality of classroom teaching. After years of private tuition, it is no longer a simple equation. Why do teachers go in for private tuition? Are the reasons purely economic or is an erosion of interest in classroom teaching also a reason? Is their pay sufficient for the burden of their work and the stress of combining it with government-directed non-academic tasks? The government needs to examine the roots of the problem too, so that the interests of all are preserved.