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Is
ban on Sunday tuition classes necessary or practical? A group of tuition teachers are planning a protest rally against the proposed ban on holding tuition classes for students below Advanced Level on Sunday mornings between 8 and 12. Thus this decision would affect students preparing for the Ordinary Level examination. Cultural Affairs Minister, Vijitha Herath is behind the move for the ban claiming it would help children attend religious classes held on Sundays in temples and other places of worship. But this proposal, which had already been approved by the cabinet, has come under fire from parties who would be affected by the move. "Even though the A/L classes are exempted, we are against this move", Tilak Mahanama, a leading tuition master of Economics told The Sunday Times. "We have enough holidays. Employees earn much on Sundays due to tuition classes. The decision to ban tuition takes away the right of the people to work on Sundays. It's the people's right to decide whether or not they should work on a Sunday. Government has no right to enforce a ban on the workers' freedom", he said. "Tuition does have an impact in obtaining better results. If tuition was abolished, what about the students, who live in areas where they have no other recourse", Polonnaruwa Royal College Principal H. K. Jayasekara told The Sunday Times. Principals of a number of leading schools are of the opinion that banning tuition classes on Sundays was not practical. Kingswood College Principal R. Chandrasekara told The Sunday Times that there was no law to implement the ban and many of the Ordinary Level tuition classes are held on Sundays. "With the Ordinary Level examinations due at the end of the year just a few months away it would be unsettling to ban Sunday tuition classes", A.R. Ranasinghe, a student of Peradeniya Madya Maha Vidyalaya said. Students believe that a loss of at least three to four hours of class studies on Sunday mornings would be a setback to their year end performance. Most students depend on Ordinary Level exam results to apply to better schools for their Advanced Level studies and the proposal if effected could affect them, a teacher of a school in Dehiwala who did not want to be named said. However it was not only the O/L students but also students studying in year six grades upward as well who would be affected by this impractical move. UNP parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardena himself a former tuition teacher commenting on the move told The Sunday Times the ban was highly impractical. "The British Council conducted the largest English tuition classes in Sri Lanka. So do the French and Russian institutes where languages are taught. Many of the artistes too conduct classes on Sunday. I am doubtful if they will stop their activities even if the government implements the ban", Mr. Gunawardena said. "Students have sports practices on weekends. Those who could afford to can bring individual teachers to their homes. You can't expect that children would attend Sunday school even though the government bans tuition classes", Mr. Gunawardena explained. He said that, in a highly competitive environment it was unfair by the pupils to have the tuition classes banned. "Pupils attend classes because they need the extra knowledge and may be also because they do not get sufficient help at school. This is a problem that should be addressed seriously", he said. Cultural Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said that the necessary groundwork for the Bill to ban tuition classes on Sundays was in progress and would be put into effect as soon as possible. "This proposal will certainly be implemented since Cabinet approval has already been obtained. We hope to get the opinion of others as well before finalising it", Minister Herath told The Sunday Times. When asked about individual or private classes, he said such activity automatically becomes illegal. "Those who complain can rearrange the class times for after 12 noon", the Minister said. |
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