The Ministry of Education appears to be serious in its attempts to scrap off holiday tuition. Speaking at St Stephens Lwanya Girls High School, acting Education PS George Godia stressed that teachers should take seriously the directive by the government not to conduct holiday tuition, a move that hasn't been taken well by most teachers across the country.

This isn't the first time the government has tried to scrap off holiday tuitions. Looking back into my late primary school and secondary school years, we the students found ourselves forced to attend holiday tuition, despite the government’s directive to cancel the classes.

Teachers were very tactful in convincing parents to support them in their implementation of the holiday tuition program. I recall a teacher of mine trying to convincing my mother to enrol me in his holiday tuition program which was going for KES 3,000 a week. He claimed that I had the potential to perform very well in my academics, but all I needed was some special attention and nurturing to “extract” my trapped academic potential. Based on the fact that my mother was eager to see me perform and was convinced by my teacher that I had the potential to perform, the KES 3,000 seemed like a worthy investment for me.

If the above line didn't work, then our teachers would threaten us that if we were not to attend the holiday tuition, we would then  not be able to complete the school syllabus. They would then bring in the idea of incorporating some revision exercises in the tuition program. This was the line that at most times convinced most parents to support the holiday tuition program.

In worse situations, holiday tuition was made compulsory and no one could question it. Our parents were forced to pay for the holiday tuition and a regular role call was taken to ensure that no one missed the classes. The holiday tuition fees was about KES 3,000 and those who failed would at times be denied their final exam results due to “outstanding” fees brought about by failing to pay for the holiday tuition.

As Alexander Chegema, a columnist for the Standard puts it, if holiday tuition is an undertaking outside the regular syllabus aimed at helping the weak students, why make it compulsory for all and at very high costs? Chegema further stresses that, extra coaching is a business venture to supplement teachers’ salaries. If teachers are truly dedicated, they should be patriotic enough to do it for the good of weak students at no extra cost – they are paid salaries to teach and ensure students pass exams.

Looking back, we as students found ourselves forced to attend the holiday tuition classes. We never concentrated and less improvement was noted in our academic performance. As the Ministry of Education puts it, children should be allowed to exercise full life and enjoy learning.

What's your take on holiday tuition?