Shadow education copies the regular curriculum of school, and more significantly as curriculum changes in the school, the curriculum changes in the shadow, the private tutoring. Shadow education is becoming a worldwide phenomenon; it’s been stronger in some parts of the world than others. In Hong Kong, in Japan, in Korea, typically in East Asia.
In Hong Kong it is very large. It is been studied that 54% of grade nine is going to private tutoring. And a 72% of grade twelve is taking private tuition. This number is really large. It is of great importance to our families, to the young ones, and even to school. So it is important to have a look on it around the world and to see what lessons can be learned from it.
In a research on shadow education students were asked why they go to shadow education. As we see in East Asia education is very important. People often talk about Confucian values, respect of education, and respect of diligence. It is also to do much more competition.
Life has become much more competitive, and lot of this competition is what is fueling the desire by families to get an extra edge, and that’s why they go to the extra classes. Many people assume that the tutorial classes are the remedial work for helping to raise the level of low achievers. Actually, around the world if left to market forces, the shadow education system is likely to help high achievers achieve more and leave the low achievers further behind. It’s widening the gaps. In the places like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, there also involve corruption. The teacher may be tempted to say, that “I will teach first half lesson in daytime, and for the second half lesson come to my home at 5;o clock in the evening.” That’s highly problematic. Another issue or motivational aspects for teachers to provide private tutorials is to earn a good and continuous pocket money.
In many other countries where education is free, in front door they say education is free but from the back door they say where is money. To conduct a research on shadow education is difficult as it is not a topic about which people are keen to talk. But we might better assume that if the trend of private tutoring is increasing; there must have some deficiencies of school education system too.
