When D S High School, Sion, topped the Mumbai division in the March 1998 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination - after a 10-year gap - the principal was most vocal about the efficacy of the `extra classes' it has been conducting on campus since the last 40 years.

However, educationists are becoming increasingly apprehensive and sceptical of these classes, which are prevalent in most secondary schools as they feed the widely-condemned coaching class syndrome.

But the accent on these classes is only getting stronger, what with government aid contingent on a school's performance (gauged by the passpercentage) and achievement equated with scores by students.

Questioning their very existence, they say it indicates that something is very wrong with our education system. With that understatement, they also point to the monetary benefits schools have been reaping.

According to public relations officer of the Mumbai Divisional Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education and veteran educationist, G M Dabholkar, price tags range between Rs 700 and Rs 3,000 per student per year. And the money thus collected is in the realm of the fantastic. ``Even considering the overheads of running these classes, one does not need to charge so much, Dabholkar points out.

He says the government allows schools to charge a fee but only a nominal amount. This is meant to cover costs for stationary and the like. ``But if schools had strictly adhered to this, most of them would not have held these classes at all,'' he remarks. The coaching offered by these classes ranges from practise in writing to fashioning the cortexinto a precision memory machine. Extra classes are held either year-round or in the run-up to the all-important SSC exam. They are conducted either on weekdays or at the weekend. Some of them encompass all their students, others discriminate between students depending on their academic skills.

All of them capitalise on the overwhelming urge to produce merit-list holders, perpetuating the trend that equates scores with true academic excellence. Worse, the system has afflicted both aided and non-aided schools.

Dr M S Rege, superintendent and managing trustee of Balmohan Vidyamandir, Dadar (which has consistently churned out merit holders), says, these classes began in 1978 with a view to enhancing all-round performance. ``The syllabus is too vast and consumes all the available school hours. In our extra classes, we make the students master the art of writing papers, combining speed and accuracy,'' he elucidates. Adding that such coaching is meant to ``complement our school education system'', Dr Rege saysthe extra classes divide Std X students into three categories on the basis of their abilities and charge Rs 800 per head.

The schools justify their stand saying the fees are needed to compensate for overheads and honorariums for the retired teachers, examiners and moderators they invite. In any case, they point out, it is much less than what coaching classes demand.

S R Prabhudesai, a former teacher who introduced the concept in Balmohan Vidyamandir two decades ago, is a disappointed man today. Vehemently opposed to charging any fees, he says the idea originated when he found his own children who were especially bright, unable to figure in the merit list. Hence, along with a few friends, they offered `sarah varga' (writing practise) to ensure that talented students made it to the merit list. Later, however, the scope was expanded to include weaker students as well. The classes then were free and students from several schools were encouraged to enrol. Prabhudesai insists that extra coaching canstill be offered free - all one needs are some committed, in-house teachers.

Dr (Fr) Clifton J A Lobo, principal of Holy Name School, Colaba, is a non-believer. ``All you need is to make the child feel good. Instilling a sense of motivation and fostering an encouraging attitude is all it takes to do well,'' he says. The school's pass percentage, he points out, has risen over the last three years (1996: 50 pc, 1997: 67 pc and 1998: 88.5 pc). And no, his school does not conduct extra classes. The pass percentage of D S High School, on the other hand, has shown an inconsistent trend despite the additional coaching (1996: 74 pc, 1997: 70 pc, 1998: 82 pc). Where, then, is the `edge' that these classes claim to provide?

Given the current social conditioning, where making it to the merit list is linked with glory, the inducements offered to both students and teachers by extra classes has given `learning' a lopsided perspective.

Vital stats

Indian Education Society, which runs 25 secondary schools inMumbai, conducts its extra classes via its Gyan Vikas Mandal. According to Suhasini Vijaykumar Sinha, in-charge of the mandal, has only just begun charging for the extra coaching. It has 90 students (scoring above 87 per cent in Std IX) enrolled in its Merit Promotion Camp (Std X), which charges Rs 500 per head.

Also, weaker students in its vernacular sections are given extra help in Maths and English by their school teachers - at a price, of course.

* Std IX has 65 `borderline' students and Std X has 20. Each student pays Rs 200 for the year.

* D S High School conducts a 10-day camp for all its 240 Std X students. Each pays Rs 100.

* Balmohan Vidyamandir's Std X extra classes comprise 210 students (80 are categorised as `brilliant', 70 `average' and 60 `weak'). Each one pays Rs 800 per year.

(Sudeshna Chatterjee is a reporter with The Indian Express. She covers education)