It is really astonishing to see the staggering number of advertisements which are coming up with increasing frequency making false promises about offering coaching on a short term. These courses are named ‘crash courses’. I really wonder, are they ‘crash courses’ or on the contrary ‘cash courses’, which are only aimed at cheating the innocent students and robbing their parents of their hard earned money.

Learning, a subject involves a lot of time coupled with hard work. Though the students aim at reaching high targets, not all of them can really cope with the tremendous pressure that is put on them by the teachers and parents. The present day cut throat competition is making the educational institutions vie with each other for grabbing the top ranks. In this mad race for ranks and magic for numbers, the students are put under heavy stress .Especially, at the Intermediate level, the competition is mind-boggling.

Intermediate students have to manage their regular syllabus besides the preparation for the entry into professional colleges. This is a very crucial stage for them and the educational institutions, which are run on commercial lines, are trying to exploit the situation. Hence, came up the concept of ‘crash courses’ wherein, a short term course is designed to squeeze in the entire syllabus of two years into two to three months. How can students, who are in the age group of 16 to 17 years manage this burdensome exercise? Most of the students are collapsing due to this tedious and mindless strain put on their tender brains. Thus, we frequently hear of students going into deep depression and even going to the extent of committing suicides. And, also the dropout rate at this level is very high. This is such a pathetic situation, which has to be handled with care and concern and tackled with empathy and compassion.

Presently, most of the students pass Intermediate with very good marks yet fail to succeed in the EAMCET and other Admission Tests. This is a proof, which clearly demonstrates the fact that they could not handle both, because the syllabi is different and the approaches are different too. Such students , who are unable to secure good ranks in EAMCET, are forced by teachers to join these crash courses with the fond hope of getting a better rank the second time. Parents also pester their children to take up short term coaching though they are not willing to do so. Because , in most cases, students are not sure of their success in the second attempt.

Coaching institutions and teaching shops charge enormous tuition fees for these ‘crash courses’. They boast themselves of 100%success, which is only half truth. Parents are also taken away by these false promises and are ready to shell down huge sums of money. But, how can a student manage to study two-year syllabi in just about forty to sixty days? It is humanly impossible. There might be exceptions, but it is an uphill task for average and below average students.

Surprisingly, these tuitions are becoming a fashion! Children take pride in attending them and parents are equally delighted to join their children in coaching centers. How effective are these tuitions and tutorials is the most intriguing question, which evades everyone’s attention.

If we analyze the present day situation, in most of the junior colleges, students are divided into groups based on their levels of intelligence. Students are assessed on the basis of their performance in a battery of tests and examinations conducted on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly basis. Besides, there are two to three pre-final examinations followed by the final examinations. Owing to this cumbersome testing system, majority of the students fail to perform well because, there is hardly any interval given to them to study and reproduce. Unable to cope with this system, they go into deep depression and frustration. Then, they are further humiliated by being graded and segregated into sections depending on their performance levels.

Gandhiji, in his Basic Education, stressed on the 3 H’s-Head, Heart and Hand. There should be co-ordination among these three. Educational psychologists lay great emphasis on the 3 A’s-Age, Ability and Aptitude, which are grossly neglected in the present education system. These are the most important aspects in any educational programme.

Of late, there is yet another distressing phenomenon coming up! The latest trend is the opening of ‘Concept Schools’ and ‘Techno Schools’. Loud announcements and tall promises are made saying that IIT concepts will be taught from Class VI onwards. Children are retained after the school hours and their heads are filled with all kinds of information which runs riot in their immature brains. How can a ten-year old child learn and assimilate IIT concepts which are very difficult to be understood even by a teenager? Then again, parents are ambitious and send their children to such schools and from there to tuition classes. The child is out of the home from 4.00a.m to 8.00 p.m. The child thus finds time neither to do his lessons nor to study at home, leave alone playtime and leisure. No doubt, this kind of hectic schedule spoils the physical and mental health of the child. 

It is time we do something about this situation before it grows into alarming proportions. Several experts in the field of school and college education made constructive suggestion and recommended not to overburden the child with back-breaking school bags and heavy syllabus. Education is not mere stuffing the young mind with a glut of information .Information alone is not sufficient .It has to be coupled with practical efficiency and which is badly lacking in the present day educational system.

We should let the children bloom into healthy and happy individuals. We should not rob them of their childhood pleasures .We should not nip the buds when they are still tender. I agree with William Blake, who lamented on the condition of the little child in his most celebrated poem ‘School Boy’:

“O! Father and mother, if buds are nip’d

And blossoms blown away,

And if the tender plants are strip’d

Of their joy in the springing day,

By sorrow and care’s dismay

How shall the summer arise in joy,

Or the summer fruits appear?

These lines are filled with the sensitive feelings and perceptive emotions of the ‘school boy’ and it should be an eye-opener to parents as well as to teachers.