UMM AL QAWAIN // A senior official has issued a strict warning to teachers to stop offering private tuition after receiving complaints that some educators were taking part in the unauthorised practise.
Amna al Mualla, the UAQ Education Zone director general, made the statement at a meeting of more than 100 teachers from the emirate, saying private lessons were not acceptable and that those offering them could face prosecution.
"We called them in to warn them of the seriousness of this malpractice," Ms al Mualla said. "We want them to stop the practice from today because it's illegal. Private tuition is not among the success strategies of the zone."
The practice is so popular in the emirate that advertisements are openly posted in many streets inviting students for private tutelage. The meeting marked the first indication that UAQ was following the lead of its neighbours in cracking down.
The concept of extra lessons at home was not without its detractors among parents. Ahmed Mustafa, whose son attends a school in the emirate, blamed private tutors for not being fair in distributing marks to students who did not attend their sessions.
"My son was performing poorly in Grade 4 and my brother's son, who had started taking tuition because he was a slow learner all along, is now having excellent marks," he said. Mr Mustafa alleged that he had checked his son's papers and found that they were not properly graded. He then complained to the school, which promised to take action against the teacher.
Ms al Mualla also urged parents to report any cases of private tuition. Teachers were to cover the full curriculum in class, she said.
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