“Ambulance Package” and “Excellence Capsules” attract students for private lessons

Educational platforms have developed methods and methods for promoting advertisements for the private lessons market, which is witnessing a boom before the start of exams and many families allocate a budget for it, in the hope of helping their children excel, while students’ families have confirmed that private lessons have become part of the components of their children’s education, and are included in the list of priorities that families seek to pay their bill.

In detail, educational platforms have created special packages for review before exams under attractive names, including “the emergency package,” “excellence capsules,” and “the preparedness package.”

Emirates Today monitored an increase in sponsored advertisements on social media sites that promote private lessons of various types, as educational platforms offer three types of private lessons, including “online,” “home,” or groups at their headquarters, while offering various discounts according to the number of agreed upon classes.

Options

“Emirates Today” communicated with some of these platforms through their phone numbers published in the advertisements, as the official of one of these platforms reported that it has 10 branches, where students can come to receive lessons, or provide teachers to give lessons at home, or electronically “online”, confirming that its teachers have a license to practice the profession of private lessons, while an official at another platform confirmed the provision of teachers from more than 20 nationalities, to expand the choice base for students, noting that the price of the share varies according to nationality. The teacher also provides the option to change the teacher if the student does not adapt to the explanation. A third platform official also stated that they offer offers to sibling students of up to 60% off the price of the class.

Prices

The prices of the classes offered by the educational platforms varied, starting from 20 dirhams for a 30-minute class, and reaching 100 dirhams for the “educational capsule” that lasts for two hours. The platforms also offered different packages starting from 10 classes for 500 dirhams, or 20 classes that can be divided into two subjects for 900 dirhams. The platforms also provided discounts in the event of registration in three or more study subjects, in addition to a discount. Brotherhood, discount groups.

Parents

The parents of the students: Ahmed Moatasem, Walid Al-Sayed, Noura Naji, and Amal Al-Sahar, confirmed that private lessons have become necessary for their children to address their weak level, especially since schools do not cover the gaps of individual differences between students, and the classes during which the academic curricula are only explained without considering the level of understanding of each student.

They limited the reasons for the demand for private lessons to the pressures of the educational system and the difficulty of the curricula, especially international curricula, and the desire to help their children improve their performance and excel to increase their chances of obtaining better educational and professional opportunities in the academic future, and obtaining customized education and a curriculum adapted to the special needs of the student, in addition to the societal culture, as there are families who consider private lessons an effective means to enhance their children’s education and achieve academic excellence.

Iqbal

Educators attributed the increase in the number of education platforms that provide private tutoring services in the Emirates to a significant increase in demand for them due to the majority of families giving up following up on their children and helping them at home, in addition to the significantly lower level of students than before due to their preoccupation with technology, especially social media and electronic games, which have come to dominate their thinking and consume their time, in addition to the fact that “online” private lessons cost less than traditional lessons, which contributed to the interest of many families in them.

Solutions

On the other hand, the educators: Muhammad Radhi, Sherif Sobhi, Reham Abdullah, and Maryam Tariq, confirmed that schools seek to play a major role in improving the achievement of low-level students, through individual support, weekly worksheets, and reviews that are conducted before exams, pointing out that the growing phenomenon of private lessons is shared by parents and teachers, as the first party abandons its responsibilities in following up on its children by providing them with a private teacher, while the large number of educational tasks affects The administrative responsibility entrusted to the teacher over his performance in the classroom, in addition to the fact that some teachers need to develop themselves to improve methods of explanation and the ability to use technology, which has become an indispensable means in the educational process.

They proposed solutions to deter this phenomenon, including teachers developing themselves and making good use of technology to facilitate the explanation of their lessons, educating students about the importance of making the most of lessons in school, strengthening communication channels between teachers and students at different times, and providing awareness brochures from specialists to students on the best ways to study and increase self-confidence. They appealed to the media and newspapers to increase awareness of the danger of private lessons practiced by non-specialists, stressing that the media plays an effective role in increasing awareness among parents of the need to confront this danger to children. Their children.

A societal phenomenon

For her part, educational expert, Maryam Al-Dhahouri, attributed the continued spread and development of the phenomenon of private lessons to keeping pace with the needs of parents and the flexibility of the student’s time, and bridging the gap of individual support, which is always difficult to provide within the classroom. Also, academic competition and the love of excellence push many to search for external sources of support, which makes private lessons a preferred option.

She pointed out that the efficiency of private lessons provided by educational platforms depends on factors

Several, including student interaction, teacher competence, and quality of content, but face-to-face education is still more effective, especially for children in the early stages, unlike the higher stages. “Online” education has proven its effectiveness whenever good interaction tools are available.

Motivational factors

While educational leadership expert, Dr. Fatima Al Marashdeh, attributed the increasing demand for online private lessons to a combination of a number of factors, most notably the experience gained by students, parents, and teachers during the distance education period, which contributed to consolidating society’s acceptance of the idea of digital learning and its effectiveness. The low financial cost also played an important role, as electronic classes are considered more economical, compared to traditional lessons, due to the lack of transportation costs and the multiplicity of options available from inside and outside the country. In addition to that, The dominance of technology over various aspects of daily life has facilitated the use of educational platforms and accelerated the spread of this style of learning. Accordingly, this trend reflects a shift in educational culture, led by societal accustomed to digital learning and the desire for flexible and effective educational solutions.

The advisory attributed the continued spread of the phenomenon of private lessons due to increasing academic pressures and the need of some students for individual support that schools do not provide, in addition to the ease of access to teachers via the Internet and the diversity of available options. The organized commercial nature of educational platforms also contributed to enhancing the spread of this style of learning, which reflects a shift in society’s outlook towards flexible and customized learning to meet diverse educational needs.

6 reasons for the spread of private lessons

Educators and parents of students identified 6 reasons for the continuation of the phenomenon of private lessons and its expansion year after year, which included poor student foundation from the beginning, the preoccupation or laziness of the students’ families in following up on their children and replacing that with external support (a private tutor), ostentation and boasting in the social environment, imitation among students without the need for it, and the wrong link between private lessons and achieving academic excellence, in addition to the psychological factor due to the spread of advertisements that promote private lessons and are implanted in the minds of students and their families – without realizing it – Its importance.