School holidays, especially the summer break, should allow students to break away from the pressure of studies and to regain a more balanced rhythm. This was stressed on Thursday, July 2, 2026, by Ridha Zahrouni, president of the Tunisian Association of Parents and Students, while referring to the growing role of private tutoring during the summer.
According to him, holidays were designed above all to help students overcome the stress linked to the pace of schooling, to exit the daily framework of school, and to open up to other activities, relationships and experiences.
A necessary break between two school years
He also noted that some parents choose to enroll their children in private lessons during the summer in order to prepare them for the next school year. This practice, in his view, questions this necessary break and keeps the student under continuous pressure.
Private tutoring, a parallel path to public education
Le président de l’Association tunisienne des parents et des élèves a rappelé que la question des cours particuliers est un sujet ancien, qui revient chaque année avec la même intensité. Il a estimé que ces cours sont devenus, dans plusieurs cas, un parcours presque parallèle à l’enseignement public.
For some families, private lessons constitute a way to strengthen their children’s chances of success and to prepare them to better face the new school year. But Ridha Zahrouni stressed that this option remains mainly accessible to students whose families have the necessary financial means.
Reforming the school to reduce dependence on private tutoring
Pour Ridha Zahrouni, la solution passe essentiellement par une réforme de la manière de traiter les difficultés scolaires. Il a appelé à agir sur les causes qui rendent les cours particuliers presque indispensables pour de nombreux élèves.
He stressed the need to improve the quality of public education from the early years of the primary cycle. This improvement should, in his view, ensure students acquire basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills.
The aim is also to guarantee real and earned progression for as many students as possible, while strengthening their knowledge and their ability to continue their educational journey without depending systematically on tutoring.
Students under pressure throughout the year
Ridha Zahrouni warned against the risk of students studying all year long, with no real rest, 365 days a year.
He recalled that during the school year, some students already devote nearly 12 to 13 hours per day to studies. This volume includes classes at school, private tutoring and home study preparation.
According to him, this ongoing pressure can have negative effects on the psychological balance of children and adolescents. It could also foster fragile generations, with less assertive personalities and stress accumulated over the years.
The student between academic gaps and family expectations
The association leader also estimated that recoursing to private tutoring during the summer holidays does not always follow a clear logic. Parents often seek to fill gaps observed in their children in certain subjects, but the student ultimately ends up under double pressure.
On the one hand, they must meet school requirements. On the other hand, they must satisfy parents’ expectations, particularly regarding averages and results.
Ridha Zahrouni also noted that students and their families remain often tied to the teacher’s or professor’s curriculum, as well as the schedules fixed for tutoring sessions.
Public school at the heart of the solution
For Ridha Zahrouni, it would be logical that a student does not need private lessons during the summer if the public school fully fulfills its role.
He suggested that the student should not become the party that bears the dysfunctions of the education system. They should instead be placed at the center of a reform aimed at improving the quality of teaching, preserving their balance and guaranteeing their right to rest.
