The Education Ministry has gone on record saying that the private tuition sector is to be regulated. It said so in reply to questions sent by this newspaper’s Sunday sister. The subject, it said, will be discussed with the Malta Union of Teachers and the Council for the Teaching Profession.

Over the past weeks, several stories have been carried in The Malta Independent on Sunday on the subject of private lessons – and how much parents have to pay to give their children some extra help as they prepare for their ‘O’ level examinations.

We will not go into the issue on why such lessons are necessary. Short school hours and school days, students who are weak in certain subjects, parents’ panicking and peer pressure are all reasons that push students to take private lessons.

While the reasons behind private lessons need to be looked into, what we are interested in mostly is the unregulated practice of private lessons – which means that there is no accountability, neither in the quality of education that is given to these students at a cost, nor in the financial aspect of the phenomenon.

A very conservative estimate carried out by The Malta Independent on Sunday has shown that at least €2.1 million is spent every year by parents to give extra tuition to students in fourth and fifth forms. The amount is potentially much more than this.

The Finance Ministry, in replies given, said that it is impossible to estimate how much is really spent because the amount is not captured in income tax returns. This loophole in our system makes it highly likely that teachers who give private lessons do not declare their income from such an exercise. Some of them may be pocketing up to €270 per lesson when they give extra tuition to large groups. No receipts are given.

Secondly, parents have no way of checking whether the teachers giving private lessons have the necessary qualifications to do so. Many parents get to know about teachers giving private tuition by word of mouth. Teachers do not need to register themselves with any education authority to give private lessons.

The government – the Education and Finance ministries – will not have an easy task to regulate the private tuition sector, in particular from the teachers themselves. But, on the other hand, it must be realized that great emphasis is made on the need for everyone to be accountable, and there should be no exceptions.