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What drives demand for private tutoring in secondary education? Evidence from India

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Abstract

Private tutoring is widespread in India, and its demand is growing over time. In this paper, we employ a two-step Heckman selection model to  analyse the role of socioeconomic and school-related factors in determining household demand for private tutoring in secondary education in India. We use 75th education round data of the National Statistical Office (NSO), a pan-India household survey data collected between July 2017 and June 2018. We find that around 29 per cent of secondary school-going children in India attend private tutoring, the highest among all levels of education.  Results show that students from socially and economically disadvantaged families are under-represented in private tutoring and spend less on it than their less-disadvantaged counterparts. We also find significant regional (rural/urban) and inter-state variations in participation and household investment in private tutoring in India. Our results indicate that children from science and commerce streams have a higher demand for private tuition than their arts stream counterparts. In a context where ‘coaching culture’ is increasingly visible in secondary education in India, findings of this paper propose potential policy implications.

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Data availability

This study is based on a national survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) from July 2017 to June 2018, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. The data are publicly available at: https://www.mospi.gov.in/web/mospi/download-tables-data/-/reports/view/templateTwo/16203?q=TBDCAT

Notes

  1. The term ‘Shadow Education’ is used for after-school private supplementary coaching services that are fee-based and are offered to students outside the mainstream school education system (Bray and Lykins 2012).

  2. JEE is conducted for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs (B.E/B.Tech.) at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs), and Institutions/Universities funded/recognised by participating State Governments.

  3. NEET is a pan-India entrance examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses like MBBS/BDS/BAMS/BSMS/BUMS/BHMS in approved/recognised Medical/Dental/AYUSH and other Colleges/ Deemed Universities/Institutes in India.

  4. In our sample, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of the students were pursuing secondary schooling in non-English medium (Hindi or other regional languages) and 37 per cent in English medium. Our premise is that medium of instruction in schools is an important determinant for a household’s decision to send their offspring for private tuition. For instance, students from non-English medium of instruction may opt for more private tuition to bridge any learning gaps that may arise due to the limitations of the school's medium of instruction. However, the second decision (how much to spend on private coaching) is more determined by the household’s capacity to pay and choice of the tutor and the fee charged by them. Bray and Lykins (2012) find that rural and poor school children who struggled with learning English in India led to a rise in private tutoring in the country. In Pakistan, the strongest demand for supplementary tutoring is in English, particularly among children who study in non-English mediums (Parveen et al. 2022).

  5. Secondary education in India comprises four grades (9 to 12), 9 and 10 as secondary and 11 and 12 as senior/higher secondary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South Asia Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

    Pradeep Kumar Choudhury

  2. Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Pradeep Kumar Choudhury

  3. Panjab University Rural Centre, Kauni, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, India

    Angrej Singh Gill

  4. Department of Commerce, Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Amit Kumar

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  1. Pradeep Kumar Choudhury
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Choudhury, P.K., Gill, A.S. & Kumar, A. What drives demand for private tutoring in secondary education? Evidence from India. J. Soc. Econ. Dev. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40847-023-00291-8

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