ISLAMABAD - With the summer vacations started, private tuition classes have sprung up in the capital.

According to the residents, with every parent wanting their child to crack as many competitive exams as possible, the demand for coaching institutes has grown significantly.

“I personally believe that private tuition is far more effective than the lessons we receive at schools,” says a business student.

Coaching, a phenomenon which was earlier unheard of and opted for by only students who were weak in studies, has become a way of a student’s life now, said an education expert Dr Abu Zar.

Education is a natural process of learning, he said, adding that however in today’s era of cut throat competition, coaching centres have become a necessity. I don’t that feel coaching institutes are really needed if the teachers teaching at these centres would start teaching the students with equal zeal and interest at schools, another educationist Prof Rana Yasir said.

If school managements are serious enough, there will be no need for coaching centres, he said, adding that regular parent-teacher interactions will go a long way in preparing students for competitive exams.

A senior journalist Fozia Khan said that if we go by literal meaning of coaching, it means to help you to develop a growth strategy, adding that coaching should be provided to those students who are below average and need to improve.

Need for coaching centres means that the schools and teachers fail to do their job of providing quality education. Coaching centres will be needed until quality education is guaranteed in schools, a government employee Nasir Ahmad said.

A private employee Ufaq Kirmani said that personally he feel that no amount of training or coaching could prepare a student for an exam unless he or she focuses studies by himself or herself.

A businessman Ramzan said that nowadays coaching institutes were coming up in every nook and corner of the capital city. There is no regularisation of these centres. Most of these coaching institutes are hardly equipped to teach a large number of students but in absence of any monitoring, they literally stuff the classrooms with students, he said.

A teacher Tariq Ahmad said that a good coaching centre could help a student to stay focused and prepare better within the available time limits.

MBA student Mohsin Iftikhar said that coaching classes really benefitted students as coaching institutes not only provided quality education but also enhanced our capacity of learning. They really add to our knowledge rather than just preparing us for the exams like most schools do, he said.

A female teacher, Hina Qasim, said that coaching institutes were meant to increase and enhance your knowledge but students of today did not go to the coaching centres for studying or gaining knowledge. They join coaching centres for fun and enjoyment, she said. The place which was supposed to be an institute of knowledge has turned into a platform for show-off, she said.

Many parents commented that students are the future of this country, but what we are teaching them. It is prime responsibility of the Education Department to monitor the curriculum, standards and trends of the educational institutions, both public and private, they said.