A student is a student - not a customer

This comment was taken from ST Forum, dated 29 June 2009.

I WAS mildly perturbed when I read last Monday's report, 'Every student is a customer at this school'. It was essentially an elaboration of one of the five core values of Republic Polytechnic - 'Customer-oriented'.

The report started with a sensational statement: 'Republic Polytechnic is not your usual school - it treats its students like customers.'

As I read on with raised eyebrows, my concerns escalated. One statement read: 'Staff are appraised based on how customer-oriented they have been.' Another: 'If students were won over by the benefits the school provided, they would become 'ambassadors' to convince friends and family to choose it too.'

At the risk of sounding prudish, the modern model of education may have gone off track if students are treated as 'customers'. There is one business mantra that comes to mind immediately: 'The customer is always right.' This popular saying is essentially true if we consider the ultimate motivation behind all customer-provider relationships - not 'customer satisfaction' per se, but a deal which benefits both parties.

However, this philosophy, if transplanted to the educational arena, might prove not only unavailing, but also unhealthy. Educators might be considered 'employees' in the organisational structure of any educational institute, but when it comes to teacher-student relations, they are not merely 'service providers' who 'trade' knowledge, nor should they 'please' students with reciprocation at the back of their minds (a better evaluation perhaps?).

While it is true that student feedback is vital when it comes to course design and self-reflection and improvement, to treat students as 'customers' is as good as saying that teacher-student relations are largely transactional. I worry that this fashionable term might slowly erode the foundation of mutual respect, love and spirit of continuity that education is based on.

Out of curiosity, I visited the Republic Polytechnic website. Under the core value of 'Customer-oriented', a one-liner follows: 'Customers are the focus of everything we do.' Then it dawned on me, this core value was meant to say: 'Students are given the utmost priority here in Republic Polytechnic, like customers.'

However, the intuitive discomfort I felt when I first read the report probably shows that the ambiguity of a 'customer' label exists and wrong messages may have been sent to parents, students and educators.

Zheng Yi

Latest comments