Private tutors and licensed tuition centers are thriving in Qatar cashing in on the huge demand from children and parents despite attempts by the authorities to curb this phenomenon.
Neither an existing government ban on private tuition nor the introduction of "enrichment classes" in schools has stopped parents from seeking the service of private tutors to help secure high scores for their children. And the fees have shot up due to high demand.
The Peninsula spoke to several students, parents, teachers and private tutors to find the reasons behind the growing demand for private tuition.
The fees at private tuition centres vary from QR5,600 to QR11,700 according to the type of the classes: per sessions or per term. At the same time, the fee for private tuition in Doha varies between QR300 and QR12,000 per month depending on the subject and tutors.
Khalid Al Hebabi, a Qatari parent, said, “Independent schools have enrichment classes but families have to meet the aspirations of their children. They chose special teachers who regularly come home and teach their children at the time the family prefers. In this way, the family thinks their child will get better coaching and they will excel in their exams.”
“This tuition habit makes children dependent. Instead of studying themselves and with some support from family, they prefer a tutor to do this for them. And the cost of the tuition is very high," he added.
An employee of a licensed tuition center said, “We offer two streams for grade 12 which include commerce and science. We charge QR10,700 per year for commerce stream for all subjects. The fee for the science stream per year is QR11,700 while the admission fee is separate, which stands at QR4,500.”
Seeking extra lessons in science and mathematics is also common among expatriate students. They claim private tutors help them score better in examinations.
“I charge per subject. I teach mathematics to O-Level students as these students face problems in this subject very often. I charge QR 500 monthly per subject and the class is held at my home for three hours, five days a week,” a private mathematics tutor said seeking not to be named.
At Study Plus, a tuition center, they offer courses per term. One term consists of ten weeks. They charge QR5,600 per subject each term. If a student takes ten sessions of one subject for two months they charge QR 2,800. Each class is for one-and-a- half hours.
The center has a wide range of curriculum including American, British (Edexcel, Cambridge, AQA), International Baccalaureate, Indian (CBSE) and SABIS.
Some parents send their children to private tutors and hire personal tutors due to some interesting reasons.
Another Qatari parent, Muhammad Al Maadeed, said, “We have a very busy schedule, all the family members work. We arrive home late and don’t get time to look after the studies of our children. We hire a personal tutor for our kids for individual attention and supervision. A personal tutor is a better solution for us. This tutor helps my children to review what they studied at school daily.”
“I pay this tutor QR2,000 per month. He teaches my children for one hour daily at home,” he added.
“My daughter is five-year old. Owing to my hectic work schedule, I barely get time to help her in her studies. Therefore I send her to a home tutor who takes care of her. She goes four days a week for two hours daily from 3pm to 5pm. The tutor charges QR300 per month,” said a working mother.
Indian parents and students, in particular, say they go for private tuition because of the high level of competition in their country for a place in a good university.
“Till the ninth grade I didn’t send my daughter for extra classes. Now the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education has introduced a Problem Solving Assessment system which will include questions from all subjects in one paper. To attempt this paper students need extra coaching and more exposure and practice,” said an Indian mother.
“There is more competition among Indian students. The sector is very competitive and they have to compete with exceptionally good students back home to enter a college or university,” she added.
A Pakistani parent said: “My daughter faces a tough competition at school with her fellow mates. She has forced us to send her to the same tutor her friends go to. She says in this way she will be able to grasp the exact way her outstanding classmates study."
“This competition among students leads to financial troubles as the private tutor asks for QR500 per subject and for three science subjects we have to pay QR1,500 per month. This coaching continues till the board exams,” he added.
There is another section of students, particularly studying at international schools who mostly do not opt for extra coaching due to their academic system.
An Indian mother of two daughters said: “My daughter goes to an American school and they don’t go for any tuition classes. To my knowledge her classmates too don’t go. These schools do proper coaching and put less pressure on children and parents and also the students do well academically.”
“As French is a foreign language for my child we get some extra coaching in that subject. I bring a teacher home for three days a week for French language coaching,” she added.
