Osama, Where’s Your Beard?

Shop Tutored

• Total homework package: Rs 4,500
• Basic to fancy solar system model/working camera with film: Rs 300-19,000
• Topical projects like working model of tsunami zones, 26/11 attack, energy-saving tools, gadgets made from waste material etc: Rs 1,200-3,000
• PowerPoint presentations: Rs 200-500

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Many summers ago, the term ‘holiday homework’ meant children and parents hunched over pink and blue chart papers, thumbing through old magazines to cut out photographs. But Mumbai-based homemaker Ritu Ruparilia prefers not to have homework worries while on holiday; she depends on the expertise of Preeti Shah, a professional ‘project-maker’ in her neighbourhood. “Taking professional help definitely helped my children get top marks,” she says, quite guilt-free. Parents are now willing to shell out any amount for ‘unique’ homework projects that will get their children a very good grade (from Rs 500 for an ordinary solar system to Rs 19,000 for working science models). School holiday projects, big or small, can be bought over the phone, across the counter, even ordered on the internet.

On the ground, the hotbed of this thriving business up north is the narrow lanes of Nai Sadak in Old Delhi. Here, a slew of stores sell academic books by day and moonlight as one-stop shops for ‘homework solutions’. Dehati Pustak Bhandar, for example, has on offer over 200 projects, all neatly catalogued in shiny blue albums, with accompanying price tags (Rs 340-4,000). You can choose between models of the Bhopal gas tragedy, 26/11-Nariman House attack, tsunami danger zones, wind and solar energy plants, a variety of charts on math theorems, or any other project that’s assigned at school. “We already have over 50 orders and this is just the beginning of the season. Over 60 per cent of Delhi school students come to us to get their projects done, so I hire professional craftsmen to do the work. Parents today want the best in the market for their children,” says owner Vikas Aggarwal.

On the Net, transactions are far more discreet. Tap on ‘Homework Help Desk’ at homeworkedu.com and a “complete package” (which includes assignments in every subject) is yours for Rs 4,500. In addition, you are assured that your identity will never be exposed. Private tutors on tuition portals are happy to make an extra buck by taking up holiday assignments and even give you “safety tips”. “The trick is to take the child through the project before submitting it, so that if the teacher quizzes the kid he or she is able to answer and it doesn’t seem like it’s been done by a professional,” offers Shalini, who runs a tutor network across NCR but will not disclose her full name even when one poses as a parent.

Educationist Abha Adams says she’s “baffled by the inclination of parents who seek to get external help for their children’s homework”, calling it another instance of urban corruption. “Does it let them boast about their children’s prowess? Do they want to ‘teach’ them to look for the easy, unethical way out? And then we worry about the ‘moral fibre’ of our country!” she exclaims.

Well, moral fibre is the last thing on the mind for a host of homemakers, out-of-work graduates, and even teachers and tutors who have turned professional project-makers. Preeti is one of them. “Students are under pressure to compete, what with the endless hours of tuition and other activities. Where will they find time to do holiday homework? That’s where professional project-makers like me come into the picture.” Nitin Garg, a young MBA, is part of this new league, taking up a record 100 projects every summer at ‘Projects’, a venture he runs out of a tiny one-room workshop in Delhi. “Many clients who go away for vacation with their children ask me to download the homework list from the school website. I have it all ready by the time they return. Last year, I got a number of orders for projects based on the Commonwealth Games. This year, I assume the hot topic is going to be Osama bin Laden. My USP is making every project unique, my business won’t run otherwise,” says Garg, who is clearly proud of the work he churns out.

But surely, one must ask, wouldn’t teachers be able tell a professionally done project from one done by a student? “Well, teachers are aware that 90 per cent of holiday homework is not done by students. But they are overworked, and can’t go through every project in detail. There’s also been talk of reducing the workload on children. But on the flipside, parents consider schools that give less holiday homework as inferior. And where money talks, options such as outsourcing homework are readily available,” says private school teacher Seema Sinha. Other teachers admit it is simply impossible to pull up every child who has outsourced his/her project. Is it time then to take Abha Adams’ advice of “not marking students on holiday homework”? Perhaps that could spur the return of unadulterated school holidays where parents and children bonded over chart paper, scissors and sketch pens.