Society faces a critical choice: nurture curious, critical thinkers or perpetuate a cycle of rote memorisation and disillusionment
Education is often described as the backbone of any society. It shapes individuals, builds nations, and determines the future of generations. Yet, in our part of the world, what we are witnessing is nothing short of a slow collapse of the very system that was meant to empower young minds. The alarming report by The Indian Express that nearly half of urban students in classes 11th and 12th are enrolled in private tuition only reaffirms what has become a lived reality—our formal education system is broken, and tuition centres are feeding off its failure.
In Kashmir, the story is no different. Once, schools and colleges were seen as the primary temples of learning, but today they are increasingly being sidelined. Parents, out of fear and societal pressure, rush to enrol their children in tuition centres as if it were the only passport to success. Students, in turn, spend more time in cramped tuition rooms than in their schools, often carrying the burden of two parallel systems of learning. Education, instead of being a joyful and enriching process, has turned into a rat race where everyone is blindly running, unsure of what lies at the end of the tunnel.
The most troubling question here is: how many of these students will actually end up as doctors, engineers, or bureaucrats—the professions tuition centres aggressively sell as the end goal? The truth is, only a small percentage succeed, while the majority are left disillusioned, exhausted, and underprepared for life beyond examinations. In this cycle, creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking—the real pillars of education—are completely lost.
Private tuition, once considered a remedial support for weaker students, has now become a parallel industry. It thrives on the insecurities of parents and the ambitions of young learners. Unfortunately, it is also a reflection of the weakening trust in our formal institutions. Schools are reduced to centres for attendance and examinations, while teachers are seen less as mentors and more as facilitators of rote learning. The passion to inspire and ignite young minds, which is the true spirit of teaching, is slowly fading.
If tuition centres continue to grow unchecked, what future do our educational institutions hold? Will schools become redundant? Will classrooms turn into empty halls while young minds are herded into commercial tuition hubs? The danger is real, and it is growing.
The need of the hour is a collective rethink. Parents must realise that education is not about buying a seat in a tuition centre but about nurturing a well-rounded individual. Schools must introspect and revive the culture of meaningful teaching, where every child feels valued and inspired. Governments and policymakers must step in to regulate and balance the system so that education does not become a commodity in the open market.
We must ask ourselves: do we want to raise a generation of memorisers chasing marks, or a generation of thinkers, innovators, and problem-solvers? If the answer is the latter, then the obsession with tuition must be addressed with urgency. Otherwise, we risk creating a society where institutions lose their soul, learning loses its meaning, and education becomes a mere business.
The menace of private tuition is not just an educational issue—it is a social crisis. And unless we confront it today, we may soon wake up to a future where schools exist only in name and education becomes a privilege, not a right.
The writer is a teacher in the School Education Department
Malik Yaseen
ma**********@***il.com