Private schooling lessons have become widespread within Oman, to an extent that it is hard to find a family that does not direct their children to such lessons.
However, this practice is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, these lessons can be useful to low-achieving students with an average and low educational attainment, to improve their grades at grade 12 of their basic education; a matter that may give them an opportunity to get a grant or scholarship from the government.
On the other hand, private schooling lessons have become a great burden on some families who can hardly secure their daily needs.
However, the neighbour who is proud of providing private tutors for his children forces other parents to do the same, so that the latter does not feel ashamed of his children being deprived this opportunity. Consequently, they will incur high financial burdens that they will spend on these private schooling lessons, which are to some extents unnecessary.
Another problem with private schooling lessons is that it motivates some teachers not to work hard nor do they devote strong efforts while they are in the official duty on the grounds that they are aware that students in front of them in the morning are waiting for private lessons in the evening.
Likewise — here I am not generalising — some of teachers themselves give private schooling lessons in the evening, and therefore they are reluctant to encourage students to understand the syllabus in the formal classes at their schools, otherwise there would be no need for private schooling lessons and hence less income to such teachers.
To strike a balance, and in order not to deprive students who really need private schooling lessons, this practice needs a kind of regulation.
Firstly, private schooling lessons are most often provided by teachers of public and private schools, with official labor contracts with their employers. Thus, it is suggested that this practice be provided through the schools to which these teachers have contract with, and that a part-time system is implemented in these schools as the case in higher education institutions.
A weekly schedule may be prepared for teachers wishing to provide private schooling lessons in the evening for the subjects they teach. However, these lessons should be reserved only for students with low achieving.
Furthermore, such lessons should target only students from grade 10 to 12 as this is a critical stage for students through which they compete for government grants and scholarship to continue studying in higher education institutions. Students failing to secure scholarship must either stay at home and search for a job or their parents have to spend for them tuition fees.
For families with low income, it would be difficult for them to pay for private scholarships. Legalising this practice and governing it by schools will help these families avoid spending money that they may need for other necessities.
Dr Yahya al Nahdi
Assistant Professor
Al Zahra College for Women
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