Private lessons extend to the university level

Since the beginning of the academic year, advertisements for educational services offices promoting private lessons for university students have spread on social media sites. Some distance learning platforms and some professors not affiliated with universities have announced their ability to teach university subjects to students, claiming their expertise in this field, while the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced that the proactive monitoring system it is implementing has made it possible to stop 20 non-compliant advertising materials before they spread. Academics have identified five reasons why university students resort to private lessons.

In detail, Emirates Today monitored advertisements made by people impersonating university professors and researchers, in addition to educational platforms, to attract university students for private lessons in various colleges and specializations, in exchange for sums ranging between 250 and 500 dirhams per hour, and preparing research and college assignments. The available courses included private lessons in: social and psychological sciences, law and its branches, languages, statistics, accounting and finance. Economics, engineering subjects (linear algebra, advanced calculus), programming, medical sciences (general biology, microbiology and genetics, general zoology, medical botany – general chemistry, clinical immunology, histology, biodiversity, basic anatomy).

Educational platforms that provide private lessons for school students attributed their introduction of the category of university private lessons “online” within the courses and lessons they offer, to meet the needs of university students, whether to fill gaps in the educational environment and enhance skills or to prepare the student for the labor market according to a comprehensive vision supervised by professors and lecturers with the qualifications and practical and academic experience, while the cost varies according to the difference in the academic subjects and their difficulty, as the prices of scientific subjects, especially medical sciences, are higher than teaching theoretical subjects. The cost also varies according to the experience and competence of the service provider. The more experienced or academic he is at a well-known university, the higher the price.

Postgraduate studies

The services provided by the educational platforms to graduate students, in exchange for money, included assistance in providing scientific references for all specializations, proposing titles for master’s and doctoral degrees, assistance in preparing master’s and doctoral dissertations, including dissertations in medical, engineering, and scientific specializations, preparing all scientific research and publishing and promotion research in a professional manner, converting scientific dissertations into books, paraphrasing and article writing services, publishing in local and international scientific journals, preparing questionnaires and responses to all programs, and statistical analysis using all programs.

Multiple reasons

Academics unanimously agreed on the multiple reasons for university students resorting to private lessons, and identified the five most prominent reasons behind resorting to private lessons and requesting support in completing academic projects and assignments. These included: some students having difficulty understanding the course, some of them suffering from weakness in research and writing skills, lack of time and the large number of academic commitments that push some students to search for additional support, getting accustomed in their previous stages to relying on the private teacher, and not being able to get rid of this habit even at the university, in addition to the lack of quality. Academic teaching plays a major role. When the content is not interesting or the method of explanation is traditional, the student feels the need for a more interactive alternative. Therefore, a double responsibility falls on both the student and the professor, stressing that the solution does not lie only in combating private lessons, but in developing the university education system to be more interactive and supportive of students, and enhancing their research and critical thinking skills.

Open market

Educational leadership expert, Dr. Fatima Al Marashdeh, confirmed that the phenomenon of private lessons has moved from the school education stage to university education, but it has taken a new form based on digital platforms and social networking sites, which have become an open market for providing educational services and academic assistance in exchange for money, noting that students who in their previous stages were accustomed to relying on the private teacher were unable to get rid of this habit even at university, which has established in them a culture of dependency and search for quick solutions instead of making self-effort in understanding and research.

Al-Marashdeh said: “University students resorting to private lessons reflects the existence of a gap between university teaching methods and students’ expectations. Some academic programs rely on dry theoretical presentation or do not provide sufficient support in precise scientific subjects, which prompts students to resort to private lessons to compensate for this deficiency or to improve their academic grades. Time pressures, academic burden, and weak self-learning skills also play a role in this.”

She added: “Some students enter university without having the tools for independent study or the ability to manage their time effectively. The solution lies not only in combating private lessons, but in developing the university education system to be more interactive and supportive of students, and enhancing their research and critical thinking skills. True education is not based on external assistance, but rather on the student’s desire to learn and acquire knowledge through his effort and determination.”

Meanwhile, Professor of Computer Science and Information Technology at Abu Dhabi University, Dr. Murad Al-Rajab, pointed out that private lessons are not a new phenomenon, even if they have not spread in universities like schools. However, in universities this is matched by the spread of students using the services of external offices in preparing and implementing research, projects and university assignments in exchange for sums of money, pointing to the spread of anonymous accounts on social networking sites and “WhatsApp” groups that promote university services, and some of these accounts are specialized in specific subjects or a specific university.

Al-Rajab attributed the reason for the student’s resort to private lessons to the heavy burden on the student, the continuation of the traditional system in dealing with him, and the large number of requests in each subject, whereby the student finds that he is assigned five projects for five subjects assigned to him in the semester, and at the same time the passion for learning among the students has declined, and they have become dependent and their main dependence on “GBT Chat” and artificial intelligence, which will lead in the future to an increase in dependence among students, and the emergence of educational and pedagogical problems.

This opinion was supported by the professor of data science at the European University of Applied Sciences in Dubai, Dr. Iman Abu Khoussa, who pointed out that the increasing reliance on private lessons among university students essentially reflects a gap in the relationship between the student and his educational institution. The student is one of many who go through an educational experience that is sometimes designed in isolation from their individual abilities, without giving them space to express their voice and experience inside the classroom. This phenomenon does not necessarily mean a decline in the quality of education, but rather reveals a shift in the culture of learning itself. Many students are focusing on passing academic requirements rather than exploring the meaning behind what they are learning.

She said: “In university education, we must work to build a different model that restores the student’s experience as a pivotal element in the educational process, and involves him in dialogue about what he learns and how he learns it. This approach is not based on quick solutions, but rather on conscious educational practices that restore trust between the student and the university, the most prominent of which is transforming the halls into spaces for discussion and practical application, and linking courses to realistic issues that make the student see the impact of knowledge in his daily life.”

She added: “It is important to adopt project-based learning, activate regular academic counseling sessions that help students organize their learning without resorting to external lessons, and involve them in designing tasks and outcomes to enhance their sense of ownership and responsibility for their learning,” stressing that when a student feels that his voice is heard and that his experience is meaningful, the motivation for learning becomes self-directed and not imposed, because successful university education is not measured by the number of lectures, but rather by the institution’s ability to ignite the student’s passion for learning even outside its walls.

Transformations

For her part, Doctor of Educational Leadership at Amity University Dubai, Meghri Nazarian, confirmed that the phenomenon of private lessons is no longer limited to school education, but has extended to include the university stage as well, which reflects shifts in the educational culture among some students who have come to view external academic support as a means to strengthen their chances of success, instead of focusing on developing their own skills in research, understanding and analysis, noting that this matter is practically linked to the increasing requirements of university courses and the diversity of evaluation methods, which makes some students look for additional methods. To keep up, especially for those who work alongside their studies and find it difficult to reconcile the two.

She said: “Getting used to private lessons from the early stages may give the student a feeling of dependence on others instead of self-reliance. This contributes to strengthening dependence among students, and when the student moves to university, he finds himself in a gap between what he is accustomed to and what is required of him, so he begins to search for similar alternatives such as academic assistance, or excessive reliance on colleagues instead of developing his independence and critical thinking skills,” pointing to the importance of instilling self-learning skills in the early school stages.

Nazarian added, “University professors are prohibited from providing paid educational services to students registered with them in order to avoid conflicts of interest.” As for students, they are made aware of the dangers of relying on external parties in preparing their projects or research, in order to preserve the authenticity and credibility of academic work,” noting that universities in the UAE seek to provide internal academic support centers, so that the student receives the required assistance within an educational environment subject to supervision and guidance.

Output-based assessment

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has begun implementing the output-based evaluation framework, which includes six basic pillars that include 24 key performance indicators, with the relative weight of each pillar determined. The pillars include: employment outcomes (25%), learning outcomes (25%), cooperation with partners (20%), scientific research outcomes (15%), reputation and global presence (10%), and community participation (5%). The decision explained the key performance indicators that were adopted to conduct the output-based evaluation in each pillar.

The pillars aim to measure the ability to secure suitable, high-quality jobs for the largest percentage of graduates, students’ acquisition of skills, effective partnerships in the field of research, training and employment, the impact of research on the economy and society, the global standing and level of evaluation in international classifications, in addition to the extent of the university’s positive impact on society as a whole.