“My child is always on the phone”. “My son hardly sleeps these days; he spends hours copying notes from WhatsApp”, another parent laments. “Dad, I have so many notes to copy that were shared on WhatsApp”, a child adds.
Complaints like these have become increasingly common and not just in higher classes, but across all grades. In recent years, the culture of education has undergone a troubling shift. Tuition, once considered an optional support system, is now seen as almost mandatory, while classroom teaching, the true backbone of learning, often feels incomplete. To make matters worse, as exams approach, many teachers resort to flooding WhatsApp with notes instead of completing lessons and providing proper explanations in class. Together, these practices are reshaping the very purpose of schooling, leaving students and parents alike feeling confused, overburdened and dissatisfied.
When teachers rely excessively on WhatsApp to distribute notes, students are forced to spend more time on mobile phones, which not only distracts them but also reduces the value of face-to-face classroom teaching. The classroom, ideally, should be a space where concepts are taught, doubts are cleared and notes are explained systematically. But increasingly, students complain that lessons are hurried, important details are skipped and they are asked to “go through the notes later” on WhatsApp. This makes learning passive and mechanical, rather than interactive and meaningful.
The same problem is visible in the growth of tuition. Many teachers, either directly or indirectly, suggest that a topic will be taught more thoroughly in tuition classes. Sometimes, the impression is created that “serious learning” happens outside the school. As a result, students and parents begin to feel that classroom education is not enough and that tuition has become a mandatory extension of schooling. What begins as optional support soon becomes a social and academic pressure, if everyone else is going to tuition, those who don’t fear falling behind.
Both practices, unfinished teaching being shifted to WhatsApp and critical learning being shifted to tuition, reflect a larger issue which is the weakening of the classroom’s role. Students spend six to eight hours in school, but still end up depending on WhatsApp notes and extra tuition for real preparation. This not only increases fatigue and stress but also creates inequality. Families with fewer resources cannot afford expensive tuition and their children suffer. Similarly, students who may not have access to smartphones or stable internet struggle when notes are shared only digitally. Thus, what should be a common platform of equal opportunity, the classroom, turns into a two-tiered system divided by money and access. The consequences are severe. Students are left with little personal time, parents face financial strain and education slowly becomes a commodity. If left unchecked, schools will no longer be seen as the main centres of learning but merely as institutions that point students towards paid services or online notes.
To change this, teachers must be held accountable for completing the syllabus in class with proper explanations, instead of shifting responsibilities to WhatsApp or private tuitions. School administrations and education departments must monitor the quality of teaching closely. At the same time, teachers themselves deserve better pay and recognition, so they feel motivated to give their best during school hours rather than looking to tuition as an additional income source.
In a nutshell, the over-reliance on WhatsApp notes and the growing culture of compulsory tuition are two sides of the same coin, both show how classroom teaching is being undermined. Unless strong measures are taken to restore the classroom as the true centre of learning, students will remain trapped between excessive screen time and expensive after-school coaching. Education should be a right delivered fully in schools, not a privilege outsourced to mobile apps and tuition centres.
Dr Saji Uthuppan
The writer is an English lecturer
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