For almost all university students in Bangladesh, tuition is not just a side activity but it is a necessity. Part-time jobs are almost non-existent and even if you are able to find one, the pay is usually very low and the working hours are like those of full-time jobs. 

It is nearly impossible to attend classes while holding a regular part-time job. That is why tuition has become the preferred choice. We can adjust our hours, earn a better salary and even take on multiple tuition gigs while still being able to attend university classes. 

However, the tuition market in Bangladesh is like a literal market in every sense. Students are treated like products by the guardians with their ridiculous demands. For example, for a third grader, the teacher has to be from a public university, preferably BUET or DU. There is little to no market value for private university students, let alone national university students. Even if one is able to secure a tuition, the pay can be absurdly low. 

I know friends who were offered only Tk2000 per month for teaching all subjects to fifth- to eighth-grade students, that too six days a week for two hours per day and sometimes extra hours are expected if necessary. As if we university students have nothing else to do with our time. 

Even when you find a decent tuition with fair pay, there are still challenges. If the student is well-behaved, the guardian might be the difficult one. If the guardian is reasonable, there might be disruptive children present in the house. And even in a quiet house something will always go wrong. There seems to be no end to the small difficulties we face when going to someone else’s house. 

One of my friends told me about her experience that once she gave her student a gift. After that, every now and then, the child will refuse to do homework unless a gift is given. The guardian does not seem to think that this is unreasonable. 

I teach a student whose little brother occasionally comes running, tears pages from my student’s notebook and runs off with pens or pencils from her hand. The guardian expects me to scold him as if that is a part of my job.

A similar situation is happening with another of my friends. Her student’s mother emotionally pressures her to make science fair projects for her student’s little sister and sometimes help with the little one’s homework. The mother says’ “Please, it will not take much of your time!” But it does take time and the extra work is not paid. 

And we have to think about the monetary gain because no student would willingly jeopardise their own study hours to teach others if they did not need the income. Some of us need financial assistance to pay for university fees, travel costs, or even to support our families. This is why valuing our time and pay is crucial.

Another common issue among tuition teachers is the nasta issue. We are either not given anything at all, or we are offered the most random assortment of food, like mishti aloo, chanachur with ketchup, and other odd combinations. We don’t go there for the food; rather, it’s a fun situation that makes many tuition teachers laugh together.

Now, I am not saying that all guardians are difficult or that the path is always challenging. There are many who treat us like family and genuinely care for us. I even know a friend whose student’s mother is incredibly kind and even gave him two months’ salary in advance because he needed it to pay his university fees. My intention is only to highlight the unusual challenges we sometimes face. 

Every tuition teacher deserves to be valued. Balancing university life with teaching, managing personal responsibilities, commuting and dealing with all these unexpected situations is not easy. It requires patience, resilience and hard work. 

Therefore, give them their due respect.