8th August 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Five state funded secondary schools in England have created controversy by allowing a private tuition agency to use the school’s premises, and sell extra tutoring directly to the school students. Reported on the BBC website, the TLC Education Group will be running classes from five secondary schools in East Anglia in return for providing students from those schools with a reduced tuition rate.
Pre-empting the expected criticism, Andrew Hutchinson, head teacher, and head of the Parkside Federation, where tutors will be based, said that using a tutoring service was a flexible way of providing the help to many students, particularly those needing catch-up lessons after arriving from primary school, or before GCSE exams. Hutchinson described it as a ‘pragmatic decision’, and said that schools should not be ‘hung up on dogma’. He said that ultimately it will broaden the opportunity to have a tutor for many students.
Martin Freedman, member of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers criticised the decision, claiming that the scheme is an unethical use of public money. Freedman pointed out that parents are aware that they can hire a private tutor, so claiming that this will broaden private tuition opportunities simply isn’t true. He added that the idea appears to be a cheap way to provide extra lessons, rather than employing qualified teachers, which would cost more.
It could be argued that, at £27 per lesson for private students, and £22 per lesson for students at the participating schools, the tuition isn’t cheap. Simon Barnes, head of TLC Education simply added that the service they provide helps to improve examination grades and boost confidence in students of all ages.