Shadow Education in Bangladesh: Experience of Secondary School Certificate ()
1. Introduction
Education has been widely considered as one of the important determinants of an individual’s productivity and the economic growth of countries. In Bangladesh, education is considered to be one of the fundamental rights of all people irrespective of creed, culture, and gender. All people have the right to receive an education, and through education, people acquire knowledge, skills, and values (Pereira, 2016). According to Rahman et al. (2010: p. 114), “Education allows individuals to develop within their community and country, and allows nations to compete and survive in the global economy”. Chingtham (2015) also mentioned that education is widely understood by policymakers in both developed and developing countries to be the key determinant of individual productivity and economy-wide growth. Private tuition is an issue of growing concern, and its practice has risen as a substantial parallel educational system in both developed and developing countries. A teacher who spends more time focusing on private tuition than regular classes can cause greater inefficiencies in the mainstream school system. According to Prodhan (2016), education is extremely important for the development of children’s minds, and its impact falls upon students’ entire lives. Shah (2009) opined that the impact of teachers’ behaviour plays an important role in the academic achievement of students. Behaviour is a description of the observable outcome of teacher and student performance in different activities of institutions. Mwebi and Maithya (2016) said that change is occurring in the field of early childhood education. It is encouraging to many of us who have spent a lifetime in this profession to observe the increasing recognition of the importance of the role of the early childhood teacher. Private tuition and others like shadow education are fee-based supplementary systems focused on academic performance. It functions outside regular class hours. It also emphasizes the context and purpose of a student. Bray (1999) defined shadow education by identifying its three nature: a) its supplementary nature, that it is tutoring which covers subjects which are already covered in school; b) its privateness, in that it is provided by private entrepreneurs and individuals for profit; and c) its focus on academic subjects taught in mainstream schools, and that it is accepted that tutors would help students to carry the heavy load of formal classrooms.
The principal aim of this study was to know about the shadow education received in preparation for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) level by students who are currently studying at the tertiary level. Besides this, it is also the objective of the study to find out the opinion of the respondents on spending time and the causes of increasing shadow education, and to investigate their perception of the shadow education system in Bangladesh.
2. Ideas on Shadow Education
Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation of a situation in which there are gaps or obstructions and where an individual tries to overcome the problem from where he learns (Iqbal, 1996). Academic achievement has been variously defined as a level of proficiency attained in academic work or as formally acquired knowledge in school subjects, which is often represented by the percentage of marks obtained by students in examinations (Kohli, 1975).
The term shadow education conveys the image of outside-school learning activities paralleling features of formal schooling used by students to increase their educational opportunity (Baker et al., 2001). Bray and Lykins (2012) mentioned that shadow education has a long history in parts of Asia. Shadow education can no longer be ignored. The chief reason is that it has grown significantly throughout the region and shows every sign of further growth. It may also contribute to inefficiencies in education systems and even to elements of corruption. Sahito et al. (2017) said that coaching or tuition means the extra help that can be gained by students from any expert and subject specialist to overcome the issues and problems, to better understand the subject content, and to achieve good marks and grades in examinations. Buchmann et al. (2010) also mentioned that shadow education—a theoretical construct most often used in comparative education research—refers to educational activities, such as tutoring and extra classes, occurring outside of the formal channels of an educational system that are “designed to improve a student’s chance of successfully moving through the allocation process.” Private tuition experiences its greatest concentration of utilization within Asian countries due to the historical or cultural dependencies on additional schooling. Several studies have illustrated that private tuition maintains a different societal role in Asian countries. Das and Das (2013) mentioned that in many countries in East and Southeast Asia, children pursue private tuition in school subjects after the end of the normal school day, effectively extending the amount of time they spend learning. In their prominent work about shadow education in Japan, Stevenson and Baker, as cited in Entrich (2018: p. 4), defined shadow education as “a set of educational activities that occur outside formal schooling and are designed to enhance the student’s formal school career”.
Bray (2010) emphasized three main points of essence: (a) Supplementation: tutoring that addressed subjects already covered in school and excluding; (b) Privateness: tutoring provided in exchange for a fee, as opposed to unpaid tutoring provided by families or community members, or extra tutoring provided by teachers as part of their professional commitments and responsibilities; and (c) Academic Subjects: particularly languages, mathematics, and other examinable subjects, and excluding musical, artistic or sporting skills which are learned primarily for pleasure and/or for a more rounded form of personal development. On the other hand, Kirby (2016) said that private tuition is an academic teaching outside of state provisions, for which the tutor is remunerated, usually by the parents of the child being tutored (the ‘tutee’). According to Bray (2007), private tutoring is defined as fee-based tutoring that provides supplementary instruction to children in academic subjects that they study in the mainstream education system. This phenomenon, also referred to as ‘shadow education’, is widespread across many developing countries, including India. He also added that private tuition is the practice of delivering tuition within the bounds of an academic subject, usually provided in the form of extra classes led by a tutor for their financial gain. Tansel and Bircan (2006) said that private tutoring is education outside the formal schooling system, where the tutors teach particular subjects for financial gain. The scope of private tutoring may be influenced by a variety of factors, including cultural, economic, and educational ones (Bray, 2003). When the majority of their classmates receive tutoring, students worry that they will be left behind. Parents are led to consider tutoring as a normal form of family support, without which they might neglect their children’s future.
Coaching and private education are ways of educating students. Hossain (2018) said that fully educated, half-educated, or little-educated men and women have engaged themselves in private tutoring. The aim of the teachers and the owners of the coaching centre is to prepare their students in such a way that they can answer the questions in all examinations, so that they can cut a good figure in the examinations. The introduction of national examinations at the elementary level has been roundly criticized for feeding Bangladesh’s mushrooming private tutoring industry and placing children from low-income households at a disadvantage since their parents are unable to afford such services. Private tutoring is a lucrative and growing business in Bangladesh. More than half of all secondary students in the country use private tutors, according to UNESCO (2011). It is so common that it has been dubbed a “shadow education system.”
3. Idea on Secondary School Certificate Examination
Bangladesh’s education system can be divided into three big stages: 1) primary, 2) secondary, and 3) higher education. Primary education is related chiefly to primary-level institutions. Secondary education comprises junior secondary and higher secondary level institutions. Higher education comprises a degree pass (three years), a degree honours (four years), a master’s, and other higher-level institutions of identical sections to other related institutions (Akhter, 2017). She also added that secondary education bridges primary and tertiary education in the education system. It prepares students for tertiary education with a strong foundation of quality education, and also serves many students with minimal academic attainment when entering the job market. The government has undertaken a number of policy reform initiatives in recent years to accelerate secondary education. Hossain (2016) also mentioned the same education system of Bangladesh, including primary, secondary, and tertiary education. In general, six different types of education are found in Bangladesh: a. general education; b. madrasa education; c. technical & vocational education; d. professional education; e. teacher education; and f. specialized education (Jahan, 2010). According to UNESCO (2011), In Bangladesh, the main objectives of secondary education are to: extend and consolidate primary education; provide students with knowledge of various subjects, and develop their potentials and abilities; prepare skilled manpower for the country’s economic development; and enable the students to take an active part in society as good and responsible citizens. The main subjects taught at the secondary level include: language, mathematics, science, religion, history, geography, economics, civics, home economics, environment, art, and crafts. Secondary education is largely examination-oriented.
4. Review of the Related Literature
Several studies have been conducted on different issues related to shadow education, like private tuition and coaching from home and abroad. They analyzed the multiple aspects in this regard. In many cases, involvement in private tuition promotes academic performance. Hartley (1987) conducted a meta-analysis of several different private tuition techniques in mathematics, with the analysis demonstrating that one-to-one private tuition was by far the strongest and most influential technique in boosting achievement.
Shah (2009) mentioned that the relationship between the teacher’s behaviour and corresponding academic achievement (marks) of the students revealed that there was a highly significant correlation between the behaviours of teachers and the academic achievements of students. The higher positive behaviour of teachers towards their students led to higher academic achievement. According to State Council of Educational Research & Training (2009) in the context of West Bengal, the major reasons of taking private tuition as cited by the students are: 1) private tutors help the students for doing home tasks, 2) students can express their difficulties in understanding and can ask question easily to the private tutors, 3) there is nobody in the house of the students to help in their studies and 4. examination related factors (i.e., to score high marks in the examinations, ensure better results¸ for ensuring suggestive probable question for the examinations).
Bray and Lykins (2012) said that many people assume that shadow education delivers positive results in academic achievement, reasoning that otherwise, families would not invest in it. Lee (2013) also mentioned that as a result, it is crucial to improve the quality of formal education by emphasizing a consumer-responsive curriculum, balanced resource allocation, teacher empowerment, improved grading system, and parent engagement. If students and parents are satisfied with formal schooling, parents will naturally reduce their demand for private tutoring for their children. All future policies related to private tutoring should consider these elements of education. Das and Das (2013) opined that there are many reasons for the demand for private tutoring. It can be either due to the weaknesses of the students or due to the negligence of the teachers. In some cases, although the teachers may be teaching properly at school, the students still may need tutoring if they are academically weak. In other cases, when the teachers do not teach properly at school, the students require tutoring from the teachers outside the school.
Makworo (2012) analyzed parents’ and teachers’ arguments that private tuition enables learners to access additional attention, ensures improved learning styles, improved performance, personalized relationships, and involvement of parents as they keep track of the performance of their children. Campbell (2015) mentioned that the term ‘coaching in education’ covers a broad range of interventions that aim to improve outcomes for learners within educational settings. Coaching is being used directly with educators, with students, and with members of the educational community. Chingtham (2015) explained that ineffective classroom teaching and a rigid curriculum cause the increasing trend of private tuition. The teachers are focusing more on private tuition rather than classroom teaching. He also mentioned that an examination-oriented school culture is also a cause of the increasing trend of private tuition. He also revealed that another important cause of the increasing trend of private tuition is that it serves as an alternative means to help weak students improve their academic performance. Insufficiency of academic guidance from the elder family members of the students for their future career is another reason for seeking private tuition.
Lampl (2016) explored that many middle-class families hire private tutors to give their children a leg up in the education arms race. Their extra investment gives better-off children further advantage in a school system already loaded in their favour. He also added that there are three main reasons why parents pay for private tuition: to boost their children’s knowledge of a particular subject, to prepare for a grammar school entry exam, or to build a child’s interest in something like music. Mwebi and Maithya (2016) identified in their study that many children throughout the world will regularly seek some form of private tutoring after their regular school lessons. Some tutoring is done within the same institution by the same regular teachers, while others are tutored by people who are not their regular teachers in different premises that could be the tutor’s home, the child’s home or hired premises. They also mentioned that extra tuition constitutes a serious financial burden to low-income households, yet strong support for the practice comes from parents. Ahasan (2017) also opined that private tutoring is not the problem per se; its very existence is a symptom of a larger disease. The problem is rooted in the existing system, which cannot ensure quality education. Even if a teacher wants to perform his duty honestly, an overcrowded class comprising a hundred pupils would certainly make his mission impossible. This is precisely why many students feel the need for private tutors: to have the chance to ask a teacher a question and get a detailed answer. Sahito et al. (2017) explored that a tuition or coaching center is also a good option for those students who want to do combined studies to solve their difficulties; a competitive environment can effectively support and motivate students well; peer and teacher help can facilitate faster coordination to work hard and time management skills to learn well.
Islam (2019) revealed that private tutoring in English was an incredible help for students who felt shy and experienced inhibition in asking questions in the classroom. Students were satisfied with the overall learning environment of private tutoring in classes. Moreover, students were more satisfied with the lecture delivery of the private class than of the school class. According to parents, private tutoring was effective as their children got more quality attention from the private tutor since students were taught at a time when private tutoring was less than in-class. Kim and Jung (2019) mentioned that, based on their study, their literature review, and their fieldwork in South Korea, revealed five main forms of shadow education: 1) home-visit private tutoring, 2) private tutoring institutes, 3) subscribed learning programs, 4) Internet-based private tutoring, and 5) after-school programs. Mustary (2019) tried to find out that the key message of her paper is that shadow education needs more attention from planners, researchers, and policymakers. Private tutoring can have positive effects, ranging from increasing knowledge to providing a framework for youth’s after-school time.
Alam and Zhu (2022) revealed that private tutoring is an effective strategy to improve students’ academic outcomes, but it does not contribute to developing students’ critical thinking skills. Bray (2022) opined that shadow education has a long history in parts of Asia, and is now also increasingly visible in the Pacific… Shadow education can no longer be ignored. It has grown significantly and will continue both to grow and to evolve, with far-reaching implications. Hajar and Karakus (2023) mentioned that shadow education studies have revealed how shadow education can be a major instrument for maintaining and exacerbating social inequalities. They have also largely focused on the tangible (quantifiable) benefits related to improving students’ examination results. Suante and Bray (2024) tried to find out the categories of tutoring forms based on their styles and orientations, particularly lecture-type teaching and homework supervision by guides, class sizes, durations of fee-charging, the number of subjects taught per tutor, and tutoring locations. Loi et al. (2024) studied shadow education in Malaysia. Their study on shadow education (SE) in Malaysia, as well as an analysis of the focus groups, has shown that secondary school students believed that SE is beneficial for achieving improved academic performance and enhancing their schooling. Nonetheless, SE was also problematic. Students reported negative impacts on their lifestyles from the use of shadow education. Banerjee and Chatterjee (2025) mentioned that private tutors prioritize tuition well ahead of the traditional school system, positioning it as a hub for quality education. Students pursue private lessons to receive tailored attention, enhanced comprehension, exam preparation, and support that is often lacking in crowded school environments. The effectiveness of private tuition is frequently attributed to its individualized approach. Factors such as large class sizes, limited instructional time, and the anxiety of asking questions in school contribute to students seeking private tuition for a more relaxed and thorough learning experience.
From the review of the above-mentioned literature, it is found that all these studies focused on different issues of shadow education in the context of different countries. But the actual scenario and opinion on the shadow education system of the students are not yet fully revealed in the context of Bangladesh. The present study can contribute to exploring new knowledge on these issues. Moreover, this study will help new researchers and academicians further investigate this field.
5. Research Methodology
This study was conducted at the Department of Sociology, University of Rajshahi. Data were collected from the students belonging to the 2019-2020 session. This batch was selected purposively to know the relation between academic achievement and shadow education at both the secondary and tertiary levels. The total number of students was 105 (one hundred five). Among the students, 57 were male and 48 were female. All the students were included in the study. A questionnaire was used for the data collection. Both open-ended and closed-ended questions were used in the questionnaire. Questions related to the students’ preparation and achievement in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination were included in the questionnaire based on the objectives of this study. A questionnaire was sent to the respondents in an envelope. After filling out the questionnaires, the respondents returned them to the researcher in that envelope.
6. Results and Discussion
6.1. Study Group in Secondary School Certificate
Table 1 shows that 59.05 percent of the respondents were in the science group, 37.14 percent of the respondents were in the humanities group, and the rest of them were of commerce background. The causes behind choosing humanities group were the choice of family members, no need for private tuition, secure excellent result, weakness in mathematics, interest in humane issues, choice of father, suggestion of significant others, interest in analytical issues, easier than science, pressure of family, own interest, financial crisis, not interested in science, less expenditure, not so good school nearer to me, no scope to admit in science group at school, no ideas on different group, could not think from village as well as rural areas and for studying on law issue in the future.
Table 1. Analysis of the opinion of the respondents on the study group in the SSC.
Group |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Humanities |
39 |
37.14 |
Science |
62 |
59.05 |
Commerce |
4 |
3.81 |
Total |
105 |
100.00 |
The causes behind choosing science group were sincere desire, interest in science, present necessity, desire of family members, priority to me, desire to be an engineer, desire to be a doctor, interested on mathematical issues, secure good result through science group, meritorious students study in science group, interest of parents and school teachers, relevance to contemporary world, hopeful to learn on biological issues, low speed of hand writing, able to realize science, villagers will not recognize me as if I do not take science group, the present is an age of science, opportunities are open to move to any occupation from science, desire to be a scientist, all my nearest friends were in science group and opportunity to know the basic issues of science.
6.2. Result of Secondary School Certificate
SSC result is important for any student because it is the first public examination in their life. These results help to motivate better results in the future. So, excitement is very high among the students and their parents. Grade Point Average (GPA) 5.00 is the highest score in the SSC examination in Bangladesh. 34.29 percent of the respondents achieved a GPA of 5.00. 40.95 percent of the respondents achieved a GPA of 4.50 - 4.99. The lowest range in the Table 2 is GPA 3.50 - 3.99, which was achieved by only 2.86 percent. A significant number of students secured the highest score, a GPA of 5.00, by putting in the effort and proper study, and by contributing to private tuition and coaching.
Table 2. Analysis of the respondents’ SSC results.
GPA |
Frequency |
Percentage |
3.50 - 3.99 |
3 |
2.86 |
4.00 |
- |
- |
4.01 - 4.49 |
23 |
21.90 |
4.50 - 4.99 |
43 |
40.95 |
5.00 |
36 |
34.29 |
Total |
105 |
100.00 |
6.3. Tendency towards Private Tuition and Coaching
Table 3. Analysis of the tendency towards private tuition and coaching in terms of the location of the respondents.
Location |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Rural areas |
69 |
65.71 |
Urban areas |
36 |
33.34 |
No engagement |
1 |
0.95 |
Total |
105 |
100.00 |
Table 3 shows that a total of 99.05 percent of the respondents engaged in private tuition and coaching learning, with 65.71 percent from rural areas and 33.34 percent from urban areas. Only 0.95 percent didn’t engage in these ways. In recent times, respondents and parents thought that private tuition and coaching are a must for passing and achieving the best results in any public examination. So, this scenario is explicitly clear to all, both in rural and urban areas. It is mentioned that a few respondents studied in both private tuition and coaching. Among the respondents, 104 were studied in private tuition, and 47 were also studied in coaching.
6.4. Subject Matter of Private Tuition and Coaching
Almost all subjects were studied in private tuition by the respondents due to their best results. Yet, mathematics and English were studied more to solve their respective problems and make more sense. The causes behind studying the above-mentioned subjects in private tuition were to understand the subject-related issues, for a clear understanding, which could not be clearly understood in the class, and was very helpful to know well. Respondents opined that 44.76 percent studied coaching, and the rest of the respondents didn’t engage in coaching. General Mathematics, Elective Mathematics, and English were studied more to solve their problems. (Table 4)
The reasons behind studying coaching on different subjects were to better understand the issues that could not be understood in class lectures, and it was very helpful to know well because of the weekly examination. Weekly examinations helped to compare them regarding their preparation with those of the other students. The coaching centre was the source of introducing different students from different schools, which also helped to justify the preparation of individual students and to know about their status through open competition.
Table 4. Analysis of the subjects for which the respondents received private tuition and coaching.
Subject Matter |
Private Tuition |
Coaching |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Bangla |
8 |
7.62 |
16 |
34.04 |
English |
69 |
65.71 |
25 |
53.19 |
Mathematics |
90 |
85.71 |
24 |
51.06 |
Physics |
50 |
47.62 |
15 |
31.91 |
Chemistry |
50 |
47.62 |
16 |
34.04 |
Biology |
17 |
16.19 |
11 |
23.40 |
Accounting |
4 |
3.81 |
1 |
2.13 |
Elective Math |
21 |
20.00 |
7 |
14.89 |
ICT |
3 |
2.86 |
2 |
4.26 |
Economics |
1 |
0.95 |
1 |
2.13 |
Bangladesh and Global Studies |
1 |
0.95 |
3 |
6.38 |
Finance |
1 |
0.95 |
- |
- |
General Science |
2 |
1.90 |
- |
- |
Geography |
1 |
0.95 |
4 |
8.51 |
History |
- |
- |
2 |
4.26 |
Civics |
- |
- |
1 |
2.13 |
Religious studies |
- |
- |
2 |
4.26 |
Physical education |
- |
- |
1 |
2.13 |
General Science |
- |
- |
5 |
10.64 |
All subjects |
2 |
1.90 |
3 |
6.39 |
Admission coaching |
- |
- |
1 |
2.13 |
Taken multiple answers.
6.5. Inspiration for Private Tuition and Coaching
Data shows that most parents encourage their children to engage in coaching and private tuition for the betterment of their children’s results. Respondents were also interested in coaching and private tuition due to their better results. The causes behind the inspiration of private tuition and coaching were parents themselves were not conscious, completion of self-study in time, to become a good citizen, helpful to study, helpful to understand the problematic chapters, helps to increase self-confident, could not understand mathematics, for achieving the best result, parent knew that best result is almost impossible only based on school, to know more, so many students secured very good score by the help of private tuition, for additional preparation, private tuition creates pressure that help to study more and to free from abuse time, for establishing in life, these were helpful as a guideline to the students and encourage teachers. (Table 5)
Table 5. Analysis of inspiration for private tuition and coaching of the respondents.
Persons |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Parents |
59 |
56.19 |
Self |
18 |
17.14 |
Brother |
11 |
10.48 |
Sister |
5 |
4.76 |
Neighbor aunty |
2 |
1.90 |
Family member |
7 |
6.67 |
Friends |
4 |
3.81 |
Uncle (maternal) |
2 |
1.90 |
Not in mind |
1 |
0.95 |
Cousin (paternal) |
1 |
0.95 |
School teacher |
5 |
4.76 |
Grandfather (paternal) |
1 |
0.95 |
Grandmother (paternal) |
2 |
1.90 |
Grandfather (maternal) |
1 |
0.95 |
No anywhere |
1 |
0.95 |
Taken multiple answers.
6.6. Number of Students in Each Batch for Private Tuition and Coaching
Usually, students who study in private tuition are fewer in number, but it is worth mentioning that a large number of students study in a batch. Respondents opined that at least 2 and at best 80 students studied in their respective batch. This was almost a classroom as well. Most of the respondents studied 10 - 15 students in a batch. The number of students depends on the reputation of the respective private tuition teachers. Those who were well-reputed in their respective fields were preferred much more than others by the respondents’ parents. The average number of students in each batch for private tuition was 22. (Table 6)
Data also shows that most of the respondents studied in each batch of 20 - 25 students in coaching. The top 80 students were studied in a batch. It was almost commercial because of the students from different schools and the weekly examination system. The coaching was confirmed at least 1 or 2 months before starting coaching. The average number of students in each batch was 32 in coaching.
Table 6. Analysis of the number of students in a batch for private tuition and coaching of the respondents.
Number |
X |
Private Tuition |
Coaching |
F |
FX |
% |
F |
FX |
% |
˂10 |
7.5 |
11 |
82.5 |
10.58 |
2 |
15 |
4.26 |
10 - 15 |
12.5 |
27 |
337.5 |
25.96 |
3 |
37.5 |
6.38 |
15 - 20 |
17.5 |
21 |
367.5 |
20.20 |
4 |
70 |
4.51 |
20 - 25 |
22.5 |
13 |
292.5 |
12.50 |
9 |
202.5 |
19.15 |
25 - 30 |
27.5 |
14 |
385 |
13.46 |
4 |
110 |
8.51 |
30 - 35 |
32.5 |
3 |
97.5 |
2.88 |
5 |
162.5 |
10.64 |
35 - 40 |
37.5 |
4 |
150 |
3.85 |
8 |
300 |
17.02 |
40 - 45 |
42.5 |
2 |
85 |
1.92 |
- |
- |
- |
45 - 50 |
47.5 |
6 |
285 |
5.77 |
6 |
285 |
12.76 |
50+ |
52.5 |
3 |
157.5 |
2.88 |
6 |
315 |
12.76 |
Total |
|
104 |
2240 |
100.00 |
47 |
1497.5 |
100.00 |
6.7. Spending Months on Private Tuition and Coaching
The duration of studying private tuition is not equal for all due to the respondents’ demand and necessity.
Respondents opined that they had studied with their private tuition for at least 1 month and, at best, 24 months. Most of the respondents studied for 5 - 10 months with their private teacher. The average time spent on private tuition is almost 12 months. 51.07 percent of the respondents studied coaching for less than 5 months. 6.38 percent of the respondents studied coaching for 20 months. The average time spent studying coaching was 8 months. In most cases, coaching centres completed their required subjects and sat for the SSC examination. (Table 7)
Table 7. Analysis of spending months on private tuition and coaching of the respondents.
Months |
X |
Private Tuition |
Coaching |
F |
FX |
% |
F |
FX |
% |
Not in mind |
- |
5 |
- |
4.81 |
1 |
- |
2.13 |
˂5 |
2.5 |
12 |
30 |
11.54 |
24 |
60 |
51.07 |
5 - 10 |
7.5 |
32 |
240 |
30.76 |
11 |
82.5 |
23.40 |
10 - 15 |
12.5 |
19 |
237.5 |
18.27 |
5 |
62.5 |
10.64 |
15 - 20 |
17.5 |
23 |
402.5 |
22.12 |
3 |
52.5 |
6.38 |
20 – 25 |
22.5 |
10 |
225 |
9.62 |
3 |
67.5 |
6.38 |
25+ |
27.5 |
3 |
82.5 |
2.88 |
- |
- |
- |
Total |
|
104 |
1217.5 |
100.00 |
47 |
325 |
100.00 |
6.8. Spending Time in a Day for Private Tuition and Coaching
Table 8 shows that almost all the time, besides their classes, they were involved in private tuition. These times started from the very beginning of the morning, like 5 - 6 am, and ended at night, like 9 - 10 pm. They opined on their busyness with private tuition all over the day, like morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, and even after class. Respondents tried to complete their homework or class lesson during their private tuition time. So, they were less able to use their time for extracurricular activities.
Table 8. Analysis of spending time in a day for private tuition and coaching of the respondents.
Time |
Private Tuition |
Coaching |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Frequency |
Percentage |
Morning |
74 |
67.27 |
21 |
44.68 |
Noon |
8 |
7.27 |
1 |
2.13 |
Afternoon |
59 |
53.64 |
1 |
2.13 |
Evening |
8 |
7.27 |
27 |
57.45 |
Night |
8 |
7.27 |
1 |
2.13 |
After Class |
1 |
0.95 |
6 |
12.77 |
Taken multiple answers.
Data shows that almost all the time, besides their classes, they were involved in coaching studies. They also clearly opined on their busyness to coach all day, like morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, and even after class. Most of the respondents (57.45%) studied coaching in the evening due to the completion of their school classes and private tuition. Respondents tried to complete their homework or class lesson during their coaching and private tuition. Those who were studied both in private tuition and coaching tried to adjust their time.
6.9. Steps Needed to Close Private Tuition and Coaching
Data in Figure 1 shows that 37.14 percent of the respondents opined that private tuition and coaching should be stopped or banned. The causes behind to banned the private tuition and coaching were school leaning is enough if properly maintain, coaching centers are quality less, conducting commercial purpose, education becoming a commodity, help to create dependency on others of the students, so many teachers are not interested to teach their students in class room rather private tuition and coaching, time consuming to the students, need to train teachers for class room, less attentive for class room due to engage private tuition and coaching of the students, create force to read more and more in class room, this place is not for reading rather gossip, to increase the importance of school’s education, teachers should be attentive in the class room, very painful and burden to the middle and lower class and it becomes a fashion in society.
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Figure 1. Opinion on closing private tuition and coaching.
On the other hand, 59.05 percent of the respondents opined in favour of private tuition and coaching. They don’t want to stop or banned the private tuition and coaching due to helpful to learn many issues, helpful to the students by solving their problems, lack of quality teachers in the schools, shortage and concise of learning material in the class, help to clear understanding, school teacher were traditional that were not helpful to make sense clear, teachers were not interested to clear the problem in the class room, helps to secure the best result, many students were involved in private tuition and coaching that were earning sources to them, students were under pressure and oblige to study, opportunity to know so many information besides academic learning, model test helps to prepare a student sit for the final examination and it looks like a shadow education.
6.10. Alternative to Private Tuition and Coaching
Respondents were asked about the alternative of private tuition and coaching. These were to conduct additional class in the school, need to scenes clear in the class room of the students, ensure quality teaching in the class room, awareness building for the students and guardians, ensure to attend in the class regularly, need to teach small number of students in a class, attentive in the class of the teachers with well equipped, to spent more time and create opportunity in the respective school by the students, create pleasurable environment in the class as well as school, appoint eligible and skilled teachers in the school, increasing take care to the students in the school, conducting group work of teachers in the school, arranging special class for the weak students in the school, to ensure quality teaching, co-operation to the students by the teachers and guardians, increasing self-interest to study more by the students, to increase monitoring upon teachers by the respective authority, to establish quality school, to increase salary for the teachers so that they have no need to engage in private and coaching, conducting online class in case of necessity, increasing liabilities of the teachers activities, school time or class hour need to increase, practice of school learning at home regularly, familial support to the students and need to change or reform in the education system.
7. Limitations of the Study
The current research was conducted in one academic year within a single department of a university for research purposes. It was not feasible to conduct the study across all departments or universities. Conducting large-scale research at personal expense is challenging. Although this study may not provide a comprehensive scenario of the entire country, but it will help to learners, researchers, and policymakers in gaining insights into shadow education.
8. Conclusion
The Secondary School Certificate examination is the initial stage of public examination of a student in relation to tertiary education in Bangladesh. Its importance and impacts are much more on the students due to the necessity of its results for admission at the tertiary level. At present, examination is held at the Secondary School Certificate level according to a creative syllabus and method. Many students appreciate these syllabi and methods, but some students cannot take them in pleasure because of the pressure. As a result, most of the students are engaged and depend on private tutors and coaching, in addition to schools, to acquire the best results. These tendencies affect their study time in a negative way. They are spending more valuable time running private tutors and coaching centres, which are hindering the development of the creativity of the students, including extracurricular activities. Students are becoming machines day by day. They have very few opportunities to communicate with others, even when spending quality time with their family members.
The policy implications of shadow education in Bangladesh require multiple issues like ensuring an effective education system, improving the quality of teaching, developing quality classrooms, increasing teachers’ salaries, and formulating a private tuition and coaching policy.