Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education

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The spread of private tutoring in English in

developing societies: exploring students’
perceptions

M. Obaidul Hamid, Asaduzzaman Khan & M. Monjurul Islam

To cite this article: M. Obaidul Hamid, Asaduzzaman Khan & M. Monjurul Islam (2018)
The spread of private tutoring in English in developing societies: exploring students’
perceptions, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 39:6, 868-886, DOI:
10.1080/01596306.2017.1308314

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1308314

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DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION
2018, VOL. 39, NO. 6, 868–886
https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1308314

The spread of private tutoring in English in developing

societies: exploring students’ perceptions
M. Obaidul Hamida, Asaduzzaman Khanb and M. Monjurul Islamc
a
School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; bSchool of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; cFaculty of Education, University of Malaya, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Although research on private tutoring has gained visibility in recent Private tutoring in English;
years, private tutoring in English (PT-E) has not received notable language beyond the
attention. This paper examines students’ perceptions of PT-E in classroom; English language
curriculum; student
Bangladesh in terms of its necessity and helpfulness, peer
perceptions; neoliberalism
pressure in PT-E participation and ethicality of PT-E practice and and education; Bangladesh
government intervention. Our analysis of survey data (N = 572)
leads to characterising PT-E and explaining the reasons for its
popularity. As a popular learning space beyond formal schooling,
PT-E is available in various forms and quality catering to the
purchasing power of different social groups. We argue that
students may resort to PT-E not because of its proven
effectiveness but because of their declining faith in school English
teaching. The paper contributes to our understanding of the
complex interactions between the curricular (school) and non-
curricular (PT-E) settings and family socioeconomic resources in
the teaching of English as a globally desired language.

Introduction
From its modest presence mainly in East Asia in the last quarter of the twentieth century,
private tutoring (PT) has emerged as a global phenomenon (Bray, 2010a, 2010b, 2013; Bray
& Lykins, 2012; Dang & Rogers, 2008; Diskin, 2010; Manzon & Areepattamannil, 2014).
Although PT is often considered an educational parasite as understood from the label
‘shadow education’ (George, 1992; see also Bray, 2013; Bray & Lykins, 2012; Chan &
Bray, 2014), which depends on the mainstream curriculum for its sustenance, its potential
as an independent entity is evidenced by some recent developments. For instance, in
Japan, where PT has long been a commercial industry with annual revenues reaching
$14 billion by the mid-1990s, nine PT providers were already listed with Japan Stock
Exchange (Dang & Rogers, 2008). Second, PT in South Korea consumed $1.8 billion in
2007 which amounted to 2% of the Korean GDP (Kim & Park, 2010). The PT industry
was also the largest employer of college graduates in Korea in 2009 (Kim & Park, 2012).
Third, although the operation of PT in some parts of the world has encountered legal
debates (see Bray & Lykins, 2012; Dang & Rogers, 2008), it has been an officially recognised

CONTACT M. Obaidul Hamid m.hamid@uq.edu.au

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 869

remedy for achievement gaps between different groups of students (e.g. Diskin, 2010).
Bray (2010b) has rightly argued that PT has blurred the boundaries of nations, institutions
and sectors, and achieved a truly global dimension. It has become a critical component of
the emerging global education industry (Verger, Lubienski, & Steiner-Khamsi, 2016).
Although research on PT has gained visibility in recent years, private tutoring in English
(PT-E), its sub-category, is yet to receive notable attention (Coniam, 2013; Hamid, Sussex, &
Khan, 2009; Yung, 2014). Researching PT-E is imperative in the era of globalisation and the
global spread of English when proficiency in the global language is linked to individual
mobility and social development (e.g. Erling & Seargeant, 2013). Policy recognition of
this role of English is substantiated by more and earlier introduction of English in the cur-
riculum in different parts of the world (e.g. Baldauf, Kaplan, Kamwangamalu, & Bryant,
2012; Hamid, 2010). Against this background, this article examines student perceptions
of PT-E in Bangladesh, a low-income country of 160 million people in South Asia where
the social desire for English has accelerated the growth of PT-E, raising educational,
social and ethical questions. These questions implicate schooling in general and English
language instruction in particular which is taught as an essential component of the
national curriculum.

Language beyond the classroom and PT-E

Learning English as personal and/or family pursuits has a longer history than the formal,
institutional and curricular English teaching which would date much earlier than the emer-
gence of the field of English language teaching (ELT) in the post-World War II period
(Howatt, 1984). In the contemporary world a substantial amount of the teaching and learn-
ing of English occurs outside the curricular setting taking such forms as franchised tutoring
industries (as previously mentioned), cram schools or coaching centres (e.g. Hamid et al.,
2009; Roesgaard, 2006), one-to-one home tutoring (e.g. Barkhuizen, 2011; Diskin, 2010),
linguistic migration (Park & Abelmann, 2004), family and social networks and resources
(Palfreyman, 2011) and, overwhelmingly, online tutoring (e.g. Kozar, 2013; Ventura &
Jang, 2010). However, apart from computer and internet-based language learning,
there has been limited recognition of these teaching and learning activities in applied
linguistics. Only recently, some scholars have come forward to investigate these diverse
learning contexts beyond the formal setting and have argued for a separate field of
research called ‘language beyond the classroom’ (Benson & Reinders, 2011; Nunan &
Richards, 2015).
While the applied linguistic view of PT-E as a language learning opportunity beyond
formal instruction is important, this needs to be complemented by an educational per-
spective that considers PT-E as an educational commodity available for purchase. PT-E
is the outcome of privatisation and commercialisation of education (Ball, 2012; Verger
et al., 2016) in a neoliberal world operated for profit. If the fee-paying education service
is considered a cultural capital (Hamid et al., 2009) with its potential for developing
human capital (Kim & Park, 2012), there may be questions about access to PT-E by
various social groups. Then, as an entity operating outside public education, it is critical
to understand how PT-E relates to public schooling at various levels. For example, there
may be tensions between the two sectors (public vs. private and free vs. fee-paying)
and it is crucial to understand how these potential tensions are perceived and reconciled
870 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

by those who operate in both sectors (students and teachers). Similarly, PT-E may raise
questions of professional ethics since school teachers are also involved as PT-E actors.
Given the growing market of PT-E, it is important to research the applied linguistic and
educational aspects of the phenomenon drawing on the perspectives of various stake-
holders. This is where the study reported in this article is situated.

Research on PT-E
In the ‘non-native’ English-speaking world, where English is seen as a crucial linguistic
capital (Bourdieu, 1977; Hamid, 2016) and where PT-E is perceived as a significant
means to academic success and English proficiency achievement, this beyond the class-
room learning space has only recently received researchers’ attention. The few studies
that have considered PT-E can be divided into three groups. First, there are some
studies that acknowledge the role of PT-E, although these do not directly investigate
PT-E participation or academic outcomes (e.g. Bray & Kwok, 2003; Hamid & Baldauf,
2011; Lee, 2010; Park, 2009; Park & Abelmann, 2004). The second group of studies con-
siders PT-E only in relation to test scores in English as a second language alongside
scores in other subjects that are used as measures of academic achievement (e.g. Lee,
Kim, & Yoon, 2004; Park, Byun, & Kim, 2011; see also Bray, 2013; Bray & Lykins, 2012).
The third group of studies has an optimum focus on PT-E and our search of the literature
has identified only a few studies that belong to this category. The first study is by Khuwai-
leh and Al-Shoumali (2001) who worked with 50 undergraduate students in Jordan to
understand the factors that are responsible for the popularity of PT-E among students
and parents. More recently, Alotaibi (2014) has investigated the factors underlying the
growth of PT-E by drawing on group discussions with samples of students and parents
in Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps the most extensive research on PT-E to date is a PhD study conducted by Su
(2005) who worked with 353 Year 10 students in South Korea and investigated the
relationships between participation in different types of PT-E (one-to-one tutoring,
group tutoring, hagwon or cram school and weekly worksheets) and English proficiency
measured by the components of Korean English Test comprising reading, writing, listening
and speaking. Based on the findings, the author argues that although private English edu-
cation in Korea is generally motivated by the demand of communicative competence in
the context of globalisation, the different forms of private English education did not
develop students’ proficiency in spoken English, but rather focused on reading and
writing as required by the college entrance examination.
Similar insights were generated by Coniam (2013) and Yung (2014) in Hong Kong who
underscored students’ ambivalence towards PT-E: Students felt the necessity of PT-E but,
at the same time, they were critical of its exam focus and its limited contribution to English
learning. The Hong Kong studies may not indicate substantial exam outcomes for stu-
dents, but nevertheless Hong Kong is one of the East Asian polities where PT-E is in
high demand.
Another noteworthy study on PT-E was carried out by Hamid et al. (2009) who used a
mixed method design to investigate two aspects: first, the outcomes of PT-E participation
using two measures of English achievement; and second, student perceptions of the value
of PT-E in Bangladesh. However, the study sample (N = 228) was selected from a small rural
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 871

area and therefore the insights, although revealing, cannot be generalised to other con-
texts. Moreover, the measure of PT-E participation for the quantitative phase of the
study, which was part of a larger study, was collected in the form of yes/no response,
although the broad-brush data were complemented in some measure by including
detailed perception data in the qualitative phase. The numerical data did not indicate
strong positive relationships between PT-E participation and grade achievement in
English. However, student interview data showed that there were a range of social and cul-
tural factors that rendered PT-E not only as socially desirable but also inevitable – even
preferable to school instruction in English for those who afforded the fee-paying tuition
of right kind, quantity and quality. This suggests a silent competition between the curricu-
lar and non-curricular sectors – the school sector being challenged in maintaining the
status quo as the private tutoring sector gains more ground.

English in school education and PT-E in Bangladesh

Although English in Bangladesh has limited use in everyday communication, the language
has a strong presence in the education system which is comprised of schools of different
types, orientations and funding (see Table 1 below). The second category of ‘nongovern-
ment’ schools, constituting over 98% of secondary schools, is the focus of the present
article (see the methodology section for details). Nongovernment schools (as well as gov-
ernment and private schools and cadet colleges) follow the national curriculum in which
English is taught as a compulsory subject from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Although Bangla is the
usual medium of instruction at this level of education (English-medium schools being an
exception), secondary schools are also allowed to teach the national curriculum in English
provided they satisfy teachers’ English proficiency and logistical requirements (Hamid,
2016).
The quality of ELT and English learning outcomes vary across schools. In general,
English-medium schools produce the most advanced levels of English proficiency
among students, while nongovernment schools fall behind cadet colleges as well as
private and government schools (Hamid, 2016). Despite the strong perception of the
value of English, its teaching and learning in the school system has not lived up to

Table 1. Categories of secondary schools in Bangladesh (adapted from Hamid, 2016, p. 42).
Type of school Number Enrolment Location Finance and management
Government 327 280,634 96% urban including Public; as per government rules
metropolitan; 4% rural
Nongovernment 19,357 8,87,9731 78% rural; 22% urban Public finance of teacher salary and
including metropolitan infrastructure; local committees
rivate Mostly urban and Private; local committees or other bodies
metropolitan
English medium 159 65,102 Mostly metropolitan and Private; local committees or entrepreneurs
urban
Madrasa 6582 2,275,944 90% rural; 10% urban and Public finance of teacher salary; local
metropolitan committees
Vocational 4014 689,663 Urban, metropolitan and rural Private (93%) and public (7%); local
committees and government rules
Cadet colleges 12 600 Urban and rural Public; Armed Forces
872 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

popular expectations. Every year massive failures are reported in school-leaving examin-
ations at the end of Grade 10 mainly in English and mathematics and these failures are
largely contributed by nongovernment schools (Hamid, 2009). A clear pattern of urban–
rural divide in English learning outcomes has been reported in research (e.g. Hamid,
2011; Hossain, 2009). Although these outcomes do not have a gendered pattern, these
are associated with students’ socioeconomic backgrounds (Hamid, 2011). Poor English
learning outcomes in nongovernment schools in particular are generally attributed to
poor quality of schooling in English (Legality of coaching, 2011). Although the shortage
of qualified and English-proficient teachers has affected the whole sector, differences in
the quality of teachers and English teaching are marked by school resources and locations
(Islam, 2015).
As a strategy to circumvent the failure in school English teaching and to give children a
competitive edge in education and the job market, parents resort to tutoring in English
and in other subjects. This has led to a phenomenal growth of private tutoring all over
the country (Legality of coaching, 2011; Hamid et al., 2009; Nath, 2008). It is available in
many of the forms reported in East Asian countries including one-to-one and small-
group teaching and tutoring centres (see Hamid et al., 2009).
The practice of private tutoring has drawn substantial media attention in the past several
years which resulted in the High Court issuing a ruling to the Government to ‘explain within
four weeks why it should not be directed to stop the teachers working for coaching centres.
It also asked the government why it should not be directed to enact a law in this regard’
(Legality of coaching, 2011, n. p.). This may be due to growing social perceptions that
some teachers were not teaching sincerely in schools so students are forced to seek fee-
paying lessons from them (Khan, 2016). While such allegations raise questions of teacher
professionalism, many teachers also need additional incomes given their low salaries in a
context of growing cost of living. In response to the High Court ruling, the Ministry of Edu-
cation introduced a regulation, making it illegal for teachers to provide private tuition to
their own students (Curbs on coaching, 2012). More recently, the Draft Education Act,
2016 (Ministry of Education, 2016) has clearly stated that the Government would take
necessary steps to stop private tutoring and coaching, specifying financial penalty or impri-
sonment or both, for those involved in the ‘coaching business’. The earlier regulation did
not allow teachers to teach their own students after hours for fees. But the prohibition in
the Education Act makes no exception, although ‘coaching business’ is left undefined.
The ban and the subsequent education law are well-intentioned, but a hardline stance
(see Bray & Kwo, 2014) may not have a significant impact on its practice because the gov-
ernment intervention was not based on stakeholder views.1 This provided further motiv-
ation for examining student perceptions of PT-E in the Bangladeshi context.

Aim and research questions

The present study seeks to enhance our understanding of students’ perceptions of PT-E in
general and in relation to school English instruction in particular. Perception of PT-E in our
work refers to how students evaluate PT-E as a language learning space; what kind of value
they attribute to it; how they perceive its role in academic achievement and English learn-
ing; and how they take position on the ethicality of PT-E practice and its prevention by the
Government. Researching perceptions of PT-E is important because in the absence of
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 873

limited and inconclusive evidence for its effectiveness (see Hamid et al., 2009; Yung, 2014),
it is perceptions that can explain the demand and supply of private tutoring as a global
phenomenon (see Zhang, 2014). Perceptions of PT-E can also be seen as a reflection of
the perceptions of English as a language of individual mobility and social development
in a globalised world (see Erling & Seargeant, 2013).
Although existing research has a major focus on stakeholder perceptions of private
tutoring in Asian societies (see Bray, 2013; Bray & Lykins, 2012; Kwo & Bray, 2014), there
has been limited research on its perceptions among students and other stakeholders in
countries such as Bangladesh. In the present study, we explore various perceptions of
PT-E in relation to three critical factors including students’ socioeconomic backgrounds,
gender and geographic location. We address the following research questions:

(1) How do secondary school students in Bangladesh perceive PT-E in terms of its need
and helpfulness?
(2) How do they perceive the ethicality of PT-E practice and its prevention by the
Government?
(3) Do the perceptions of PT-E vary across gender, parental education and geographic
location?

The limited research on PT-E currently available suggests strong positive perceptions of
the role of PT-E, regardless of its effectiveness (see Hamid et al., 2009; Su, 2005; Yung,
2014). Although participation in the supplementary learning is mediated by socioeco-
nomic and locational factors (Bray & Kwo, 2013; Kim, 2015; Lee, 2010; Manzon & Areepat-
tamannil, 2014), there has been limited research on whether variations in the perceptions
of PT-E are also associated with these variables. Gender has also received inadequate
attention in research. While Hamid et al. (2009) did not consider PT-E perceptions
from the perspective of gender in rural Bangladesh, Kwo and Bray (2014) did not find sig-
nificant differences in the perceptions of private tutoring between male and female stu-
dents in Hong Kong. Given the absence of conclusive findings, we have taken these
variables into account in examining student perceptions. Finally, there is a potential
link, as previously noted, between PT-E practice and professional ethics (Hamid et al.,
2009; Nuland, Khandelwal, Biswal, Dewan, & Bajracharya, 2006) – a ground on which
the Government of Bangladesh has made its practice involving teachers’ own students
illegal. We therefore sought to examine how students viewed these contentious issues
about PT-E.

Methodology
The data for the present article are drawn from a questionnaire survey which is the main
instrument for data collection in a larger project on PT-E in Bangladesh. The survey was
distributed to 675 Grade 10 students in nine nongovernment schools and 577 students
responded, the response rate being 84%. In order to ensure student representation
from different walks of life, we selected the schools from three regions, being guided
by Lamb’s (2012) study of students’ motivation for English learning in Indonesia: three
schools from Dhaka, the capital city, three schools from Rangpur, a regional city and
three schools from a rural sub-district (Rajarhat) in the northern region. Although our
874 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

sample of schools was not nationally representative, we wanted to ensure that the sample
covered school diversity in terms of location, socioeconomic context and quality. Assist-
ance was sought from school executives in selecting the sample of Grade 10 students
from their student populations.
The student questionnaire was designed drawing on previous research on the role of
non-curricular and non-methodological factors in English learning experiences and out-
comes in Bangladesh (see Hamid, 2009). The 26-item questionnaire was divided into
three sections. Items in the first section collected information on students’ demographic
factors including gender, parental income and levels of education and location. The
second section collected information on various aspects of students’ participation in PT-
E including the type, duration and frequency of the lessons taken. This section also con-
tained 11 items that sought to understand their perceptions of PT-E in relation to its neces-
sity and helpfulness, PT-E outcomes, peer pressure, and ethicality and government
regulation. All these items were responded to by the categories of Agree, Disagree and
Neutral except one which sought to measure the perceived degree of helpfulness of
PT-E (Very, Somewhat and Not helpful) (see Table 3). The third section included an
open-ended question which invited students to comment on any other issues on PT-E.
The questionnaire was bilingual that provided the same information in Bangla and
English. The participants were instructed to write their responses in Bangla, English or
in a mixture of both.

Findings
The survey data showed that PT-E participation rate was just over 82%, which is 7% higher
than the rate reported in Hamid et al. (2009). Some key features of PT-E participation, as
presented in Table 2, include the following:

. 49% of the students took PT-E for a duration of less than one year; 28% for 1–2 years
and the remaining 29% for more than 2 years;
. About 18% of students spent 1–2 hours/week on PT-E; 50% spent 3–4 hours/week and
32% spent 5 or more hours/week;
. 45% of the students took PT-E lessons from their own school teachers, while the remain-
ing 55% took it from other teachers and/or institutions;
. About 75% of the students took PT-E lessons for both higher grades in English exam-
ination and learning English to use it.

Table 2 presents the percentage distribution of students across socioeconomic and demo-
graphic factors along with participation in PT-E. The following observations can be made
about the data:

. Overall, about 82% of the study participants reported ever taking PT-E with females
taking PT-E (88%) significantly higher than males (82%) (p = .031);
. PT-E participation rate was lower in high-income families (e.g. Taka. 25,001 or more)
compared to low-income families (e.g. Taka. 10,000 or less) and the difference was stat-
istically significant (p < .001);
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 875

Table 2. Percentage distribution of students who were taking PT-E.

Characteristics % taking PT-E
n a
Yes No p-Valueb
PT-E 572 81.4 15.9
Gender
Female 208 88.46 11.54 .031
Male 364 81.59 18.41
Father’s education
Up to primary 115 85.22 14.78 <.001
Secondary 122 93.44 6.56
Higher secondary 121 87.60 12.4
Tertiary 212 75.94 24.06
Mother’s education
Up to primary 161 88.20 11.80 <.001
Secondary 182 91.76 8.24
Higher secondary 130 76.92 23.08
Tertiary 96 72.92 27.08
c
Family income (Taka)
Up to 5000 126 86.51 13.49 <.001
5001 to10,000 84 92.86 7.14
10,001 to15,000 120 93.33 6.67
20,001 to 25,000 94 85.11 14.89
25,001 and above 146 68.49 31.51
Location
Dhaka (metropolitan) 259 74.52 25.48 <.001
Rangpur (regional) 156 94.23 5.77
Rajarhat (rural) 157 89.81 10.19
a
n represents the total number in the category. Incomplete responses were excluded from the total number of responses.
b
p-Value is based on Chi-square statistic.
c
5000 Taka= 61.40 USD.

. PT-E participation rate was lower among students whose mothers had tertiary edu-
cation (73%) compared to students whose mothers had only up to primary education
(82%) and the differences were statistically significant (p < .001);
. PT-E participation rate was significantly higher (p < .001) in the regional (94%) and rural
(90%) contexts than in the metropolitan context (74.5%); and
. There were significant differences in the distribution of levels of mother’s education
across locations: While 59% of mothers in Dhaka had higher secondary or above
level of education, this proportion was 44% in Rangpur and only 4% in Rajarhat (Chi-
square = 240.00, degree of freedom = 4, p < .0001).

This general profile of PT-E participation suggests a wide spread of PT-E across the
country. The association of PT-E participation with the variables of interest points to edu-
cational and socioeconomic issues.

Student perceptions of PT-E

We explore students’ perceptions of PT-E in relation to four topics including the necessity
and helpfulness of PT-E, particularly in relation to school instruction, peer pressure in PT-E
participation, ethicality of PT-E practice and the desirability of government intervention.
We examine differences in students’ perceptions in terms of gender, mother’s education
and geographic location. Because of the high level of inter-correlations between mother’s
education and father’s education and family income, we have considered mother’s edu-
cation as an index of family socioeconomic status (SES) (see Hamid et al., 2009).
876 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

Perceived necessity and helpfulness of PT-E

In Table 3 below, we report students’ responses to the perceived need and helpfulness of
PT-E. The first two statements (1 and 2) focus essentially on the same issue (i.e. the neces-
sity of PT-E) using positive and negative statements. Although three quarters of students
disagreed with the statement that PT-E was essential, over 94% of them supported the
need for PT-E by disagreeing with the second statement. This indicates that although stu-
dents may not consider PT-E as essential, it does have an important role in their life as stu-
dents. Of note, although there is no significant gender difference in this respect (p = .44),
the student perceptions of the essentiality of PT-E have significant variations in terms of
mother’s education and geographic location. For instance, lower the level of mother’s edu-
cation, higher the proportion of students who considered PT-E as essential (p < .001). Simi-
larly, significantly higher proportions of students in the regional and rural contexts
considered PT-E as essential compared with those in the metropolitan setting (p < .001).

Perceived PT-E outcomes in relation to school instruction

Consistent with the perceived need of PT-E, the majority of students endorsed its helpful-
ness (43% choosing the answer ‘very helpful’ and 42% choosing ‘somewhat helpful’). The
helpfulness of PT-E was attested by students irrespective of mother’s education back-
ground or geographic location. However, there are significant gender differences in
these perceptions. For instance, higher proportions of female students perceived PT-E
as ‘very helpful’ than male students (52% compared to 38%) (p < .001). Similarly, the pro-
portion of female students (8%) who considered PT-E as ‘not helpful’ was less than half of
the proportion of male students (18%). It is also to be noted that higher proportions of
students from higher levels of mother’s education backgrounds and the metropolitan
context considered PT-E as ‘not helpful’ (Table 3).
Table 4 below provides further endorsement of PT-E in relation to school instruction
and English learning outcomes. A slightly higher proportion of students (45.5%) disagreed
with statement 4 about the impossibility of doing well in exams without PT-E than those
who agreed (40%). However, the differences in student perceptions in terms of gender,
SES and area of residence are remarkable. For instance, a significantly higher proportion
of female students (52%) agreed that it was impossible to do well in exams without PT-
E than male students (28%) (p < .001). Similarly, higher proportions of students with
lower levels of mother’s education and those from outside the metropolitan context
agreed with the inevitability of PT-E for exam performance (p = .001 and p < .001,
respectively).
Statement 5 explicitly focuses on school instruction. Almost 60% of the students agreed
with the statement thus pointing to the perceived ineffectiveness of school instruction as a
driver of PT-E. Here we can refer to the ‘push’ factors (i.e. weaknesses of school instruction),
as discussed by Chan and Bray (2014) in Hong Kong, but the differences between the two
contexts need to be highlighted: while Hong Kong secondary students resorted to private
tutoring for specific needs such as exam preparation and individualised instruction that
are not met in school, the majority of Bangladeshi students in our sample perceived
school instruction in English being ineffective (see Sriprakash, Proctor, & Hu, 2016, for
an understanding of how Chinese immigrant parents in Australia justified private tutoring
Table 3. Perceived necessity and helpfulness of PT-E by socio-demographic characteristics.
Gender Mother’s education Site
Higher secondary
Statements Male Female p-Valuea Up to primary Secondary and above p-Valuea Metro Regional Rural p-Valuea
1. PT-E is essential for me
Agree 26.74 23.76 .44 41.61 23.08 15.81 .001 15.54 32.03 35.67 <.001
Disagree 73.26 76.24 58.39 76.92 84.19 84.46 67.97 64.33
2. I don’t need PT-E at all
Agree 5.29 4.93 .85 4.35 3.83 6.98 .313 7.17 3.25 3.82 .149
Disagree 94.71 95.01 95.65 96.17 93.02 92.83 96.75 96.18
3. PT-E is:
very helpful 38.38 51.96 .001 43.48 41.99 44.70 .193 40.80 48.70 42.04 <.001

DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION

Somewhat helpful 43.70 39.71 44.72 46.41 37.33 37.60 40.91 50.96
not helpful 17.93 8.33 11.80 11.60 17.97 21.60 10.39 7.01
a
p-Value is based on Chi-square test.

Table 4. Perceived effectiveness of PT-E in relation to school instruction and outcomes by socio-demographic characteristics.
Gender Mother’s education Site
Statements Male Female p-Valuea Up to primary Secondary Higher secondary and above p-Valuea Metro Regional Rural p-Valuea
4. It is impossible to do well in English exam without taking PT-E
Agree 27.97 52.43 <.001 48.15 34.64 30.56 .001 26.32 34.19 56.33 <.001
Disagree 55.65 35.44 35.80 48.60 56.94 61.13 48.39 27.85
Neutral 16.38 12.14 16.05 16.76 12.50 12.55 17.42 15.82
5. If English were taught very well at school, I would not take PT-E
Agree 59.38 59.02 .001 70.99 58.76 51.36 .004 48.59 57.42 77.85 <.001
Disagree 21.57 31.71 17.90 24.29 31.36 29.72 27.74 15.82
Neutral 19.05 9.27 11.11 16.95 17.27 21.69 14.84 6.33
6. Those who have higher grades in English take PT-E
Agree 25.77 34.78 <.001 36.42 25.84 26.13 <.001 24.30 28.39 37.34 <.001
Disagree 50.42 29.47 29.63 43.26 52.25 52.19 48.39 22.15
Neutral 23.81 35.75 33.95 30.90 21.62 23.51 23.23 40.51
7. Those who take PT-E are able to speak English fluently
Agree 13.73 8.70 <.001 18.52 10.17 8.56 .014 6.35 13.64 18.99 <.001
Disagree 61.62 47.34 48.15 56.50 62.16 67.86 54.55 39.87

877
Neutral 24.65 43.96 33.33 33.33 29.28 25.79 31.82 41.14
a
p-Value is based on Chi-square test.
878 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

for their children in relation to schooling). However, differences in students’ perceptions in

terms of the three variables are to be noted. For instance, lower the level of mother’s edu-
cation, higher the proportion of students who agreed with the statement (p = .004). Simi-
larly, the farther one goes away from the capital city, higher proportions of students are
found to agree with the statement (p < .001). These patterned responses can be inter-
preted to indicate that students from rural and low SES (measured by mother’s education)
backgrounds may rely on PT-E more than their counterparts. Moreover, from the
responses it can be surmised that the quality of school instruction in English seems to
decline as one moves away from the capital city.
Statements 6 and 7 focus on two outcomes of PT-E participation: higher grade achieve-
ment and development of spoken English proficiency. For statement 6, although higher
proportions of students (about 40%) disagreed than those who agreed (30%), significant
differences in student perceptions in terms of the three variables are noteworthy. Signifi-
cantly higher proportions of female students, students from lower levels of mother’s edu-
cation backgrounds and students from rural contexts perceived the positive role of PT-E in
grade achievement than their counterparts (p < .001).
Finally, although a small proportion (about 11%) of students perceived the role of PT-E
in developing speaking proficiency (statement 7), the proportions of students who agreed
with the statement are significantly higher for females (p < .001) and those from lower
levels of mother’s education background (p = .014) and rural contexts (p < .001).

Peer pressure and PT-E participation

The role of peer pressure has been indicated by previous research in Bangladesh and Hong
Kong (Bray, 2013; Hamid et al., 2009). In order to further substantiate this role, students
were asked to respond to two items as in Table 5. Overall, their responses do not
provide strong endorsement of the perception of peer pressure. Nevertheless, some inter-
esting insights can be noted. Students’ responses to statement 8 were not associated with
gender, SES or location (p > .05). In response to statement 9 about stopping to take PT-E if
their fellow students stopped, just over 18% of the students agreed with the proposition.
Over 52% of the students disagreed, suggesting that they would not stop taking PT-E even
when others stopped. Thus, it can be understood that student participation in PT-E, based
on student perception data, was probably driven mostly by factors other than peer
pressure. It is also to be noted that significantly higher proportions of female students
(p < .001), students from lower levels of mother’s education backgrounds (p = .014) and
students from rural locations (p < .001) indicated that they might not stop taking PT-E,
possibly suggesting their higher level of dependence on PT-E than their counterparts
(Table 5).

Ethicality of PT-E and government regulation

As students’ responses in Table 6 show, while just over one-fifth of the students agreed
with statement 10 that teacher involvement in PT-E raised ethical issues, 45% of them
did not agree with the statement and one-third of them selected the neutral response.
It is to be noted that higher proportions of female students, students from lower levels
Table 5. Perception of peer pressure in PT-E participation by socio-demographic characteristics.
Gender Mother’s education Site
Higher secondary
Statements Male Female p-Valuea Up to primary Secondary and above p-Valuea Metro Regional Rural p-Valuea
8. I take PT-E because my classmates take them
Agree 6.82 5.88 .11 5.70 6.74 6.42 .111 7.38 6.45 5.10 .913
Disagree 84.09 89.71 86.71 89.89 83.03 84.84 86.45 87.90
Neutral 9.09 4.41 7.59 3.37 10.55 7.79 7.10 7.01
9. If other students stopped taking PT-E, I would stop too
Agree 19.61 16.34 <.001 18.52 22.91 14.35 .014 17.89 25.16 12.66 <.001
Disagree 41.74 70.79 58.64 50.84 49.07 41.87 52.90 67.72

DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION

Neutral 38.66 12.87 22.84 26.26 36.57 40.24 21.94 19.62
a
p-Value is based on Chi-square test.

Table 6. Perceived ethicality and government intervention about PT-E by socio-demographic characteristics.
Gender Mother’s education Site
Higher secondary
Statements Male Female p-Valuea Up to primary Secondary and above p-Valuea Metro Regional Rural p-Valuea
10. Teacher practice of private tutoring is unethical
Agree 23.68 16.10 <.001 19.88 21.11 21.36 .014 20.16 25.97 17.20 .049
Disagree 38.44 56.10 47.20 45.00 43.64 41.11 42.21 53.50
Neutral 37.88 27.80 32.92 33.89 35.00 38.74 31.82 29.30
11. Government should take steps to stop private tutoring
Agree 32.50 18.27 .001 28.57 25.27 27.93 .464 27.45 32.90 21.52 .135
Disagree 39.72 50.96 47.83 42.31 42.31 44.31 36.77 50.00
Neutral 27.78 30.77 23.60 32.42 29.73 28.24 30.32 28.48
a
p-Value is based on Chi-square test.

879
880 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

of mother’s education background and those from the rural setting did not, as understood
from their responses, link ethical issues to the practice of PT-E by teachers.
Students’ responses (Table 6) to the question of banning PT-E (statement 11) appear
consistent with their responses to ethical issues. Just over a quarter of the students
agreed with the statement that the Government should ban PT-E. Over 44% students dis-
agreed while 29% of students indicated the uncertainty of their perceptions by choosing
the category ‘neutral’.
In general, students’ responses to these two items may point to the need of PT-E and its
acceptance by the majority of students.

Discussion
The PT-E participation rate that we have reported (82%) is much higher than the rates for
some East Asian countries including Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam (see
Bray, 2013). The majority of students perceived PT-E as helpful for learning, although it
was not seen as essential. The majority view also did not point to ethical issues about
teacher practice of PT-E which was also unsupportive of stopping PT-E by the Government.
Based on the perception data, PT-E can be seen as a social and educational reality in Ban-
gladesh. The PT-E participation rate suggests that this is a popular – rather than an elitist –
pathway of education and learning. The socioeconomic and geographic patterns of PT-E
participation and its perceptions suggest that contrary to the situation in the South-East
Asian countries, PT-E is more popular outside the capital city and among students of
low SES backgrounds in Bangladesh.
There can be several explanations for this popular – and apparently counterintuitive –
view of PT-E. First, the social elite and the emerging wealthier classes usually send their
children to private English-medium schools which are mainly located in the capital city
(see Hamid & Jahan, 2015). Consequently, not many students from these privileged back-
grounds are found to attend state-funded mainstream schools like the ones reported in
this study. Moreover, students in the metropolitan context would have access to edu-
cational resources such as libraries, media and the internet in the public domain which
are not available to the same extent outside the capital. Second, studies have shown
that English teaching is in a pitiable condition in rural schools (Hossain, 2009; Islam,
2015). English teachers who can provide meaningful learning engagement for students
in the class are not common in rural settings. In such a state of schooling in English, stu-
dents may look for an alternative in PT-E. Third, stronger perceptions of PT-E among lower
SES students can be understood from their stronger motivation for passing English exams
coupled with their limited access to educational and learning resources and parental social
and cultural capital within the family (see Hamid, 2009 for details). Fourth, female students’
stronger positive perceptions of PT-E can also be explained by their motivation for aca-
demic achievement in the context of family socioeconomic realities. In rural Bangladesh,
female students from low SES families are under pressure to perform since they have to
demonstrate to their families that the parental investment in their education, mobilised
from scarce resources, is worthwhile. Therefore, it is understandable that they would
resort to PT-E in the hope of living up to self- and family-expectations.
The poor quality of schooling in English, particularly outside the capital city, appears to
be a major factor behind the popularity of PT-E. Given this, it can be argued that formal
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 881

schooling and PT-E are locked in a relationship of competition or subtraction which is

different from the complementary relationship between the two in South-East Asian
nations (Chan & Bray, 2014; Su, 2005). About 60% of the students in the present study
noted that if school English teaching had been adequate, they would not have taken
PT-E. This response rate for rural students was as high as 78%. This can be taken as an
expression of limited confidence in formal schooling in English. The majority support of
PT-E as ethical provides legitimacy to its practice probably out of their perception of
the poor state of formal schooling in English.
This raises the question of the quality of PT-E itself and the actual benefits of taking PT-
E. Even though PT-E is endorsed widely by students (over 80% considering it ‘very helpful’
and ‘somewhat helpful’), only about a quarter of them agreed that those who achieve
higher grades do so because of PT-E or those who take PT-E are able to speak English flu-
ently. From this it can be understood that students may have a realistic understanding of
what PT-E can do. Although not much research has been done on the actual benefits of
taking PT-E (but see Hamid et al., 2009), their understanding that PT-E may not go far in
meeting what they need is not surprising given that often it is the same school teacher
who provides fee-paying lessons. And non-teacher private tutors may not be any better
than school teachers. The question, then, is why do students depend on it? The answer
seems to lie in their desperate search for an alternative – however effective – probably
given their disillusionment with school English teaching. In their desperate search, the
effectiveness of PT-E becomes a secondary question; social belief in its efficacy may be
adequate. Other students taking PT-E may also exert a social pressure, although they
may rule this out consciously, as understood from the students’ responses. So, it can be
argued that students and parents probably are drawn to PT-E not because of its proven
outcomes, but because of its perceived benefits in the context of modest outcomes of
formal schooling.
Although the data indicate a modest role of peer pressure, this pressure or competition
is probably more relevant at the societal level than at the level of individual students. In a
world of increasing competition for access to English, education and employment (see
Erling & Seargeant, 2013), parents and their offspring cannot afford to lose. Therefore,
PT-E is taken as a parental strategy, an investment in children’s human capital develop-
ment (Kim & Park, 2012) ‘as a form of protection against losing’ (Bray, 2013, p. 27).
As a parental strategy to navigate through a competitive environment, the question of
whether PT-E can be seen as class strategy for going ahead (Ball, 2003) may not produce a
straightforward answer. When 82% of the student population in a low-income society has
access to PT-E, this can hardly be called a class-marking educational strategy. However, the
class question is pertinent with regard to the location, volume and the quality of PT-E. Low
SES students’ limited access to PT-E may give them the false hope that they were doing
what middle-class parents did, without probably realising that they cannot actually
match the extent and quality, given their limited affordability. Hamid et al. (2009,
p. 297) reported a poor mother in a rural setting who said about her daughter who was
about to take the school-leaving exam in Year 10: ‘If I had some poultry, I could sell
eggs and give her the money. She could then pay an English teacher and get some
private lessons’. It is noteworthy how English learning is viewed as a few lesson shots
from private tutors by this low SES parent which is different from a long-term, engaging
view of English learning upheld by other parents.
882 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

PT-E can be seen as a by-product of neoliberalism that encourages private pursuits of

education and educational choices (Ball, 2012; Chan & Bray, 2014). The neoliberal character
of PT can be understood from the analogy that Kim and Park (2012) use for public edu-
cation and PT: ‘tap water’ for the former and ‘bottled water’ for the latter. They argue
that in a city people can purchase mineral water from private vendors and/or install
water purifiers at home in addition to the supply of good quality tap water. Similarly,
the neoliberalist education market allows citizens to pursue better educational goods
and services in the form of private tutoring. The analogy is appropriate given that
private tutoring is available for money, the more money one pays, the more and better
quality of private tutoring one can purchase. Therefore, PT as a class strategy for invest-
ment in human capital cannot be underestimated (Ball, 2003; Kim & Park, 2012).
While the apparent relevance of the tap and bottled water analogy cannot be denied, a
more meaningful analogy is suggested by Kwo and Bray (2014) who consider school tea-
chers as public bus drivers and private tutors as private transporters. The analogy helps
them to emphasise that given the fixed curricular route that teachers have to traverse
within the fixed academic term, they may not be able to address individual needs of
student-travelers in driving them towards common destinations. In this respect private
providers such as paid tutors may be in a better position to negotiate these needs.
However, acknowledging that the analogy may ‘not fully reflect the complexity of the
relationship between free education and supplementary tutoring’ (p. 413), they provide
a critical appreciation of all stakeholders: schools teachers’ ‘delivery approach’ may
not address students’ diverse needs; private providers’ focus on exam preparation
narrows rather than expands students’ learning; and students’ inadequate understand-
ing of their needs. In the Bangladeshi context, however, if the poor quality of school
English is the major driver of PT-E, as we have argued in this article, both analogies
may appear somewhat irrelevant. A large proportion of PT-E providers in Bangladesh
are school teachers, driving both public buses and private transports of schooling in
English. Second, Bangladeshi students do not resort to PT-E for enrichment only,
seeing it as an additional resource for getting ahead; rather, it may represent some
sort of a remedy for the perceived educational pollution (i.e. unhygienic tap water
and unreliable bus drivers2) in the formal system, as an escape from the malady. It is
seen as a necessity and is socially desirable for the majority, not just for the few. PT-E
is sought, regardless of its effectiveness, as an alternative learning space, for achieving
higher grades or developing English proficiency, or for both. The social desire for English
in a globalised world has heightened the demand for English in the formal sector. This
demand not being fully met in the formal sector creates the need for PT-E. But while
families in urban settings with sufficient resources and educational capital may be
resorting to multiple opportunities for their children’s English learning and achievement,
low SES families in rural contexts may be accessing PT-E only, in its limited, cheap and
low-quality form.

Conclusions
The spread of PT-E in Bangladesh and its more popularity in rural areas and among stu-
dents and families with limited education and economic resources point to a complex
set of factors and their interactions. PT-E does not appear to be an elitist extracurricular
 DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION 883

pursuit; it is popular and its availability in various forms and quality caters to the purchas-
ing power of different social groups participating in the education race. While the less for-
tunate groups may rely solely on PT-E – regardless of its quantity and quality – their more
fortunate counterparts may have access to other supports, thus making PT-E less inevita-
ble for them. This is probably how PT-E lives up to its identity as an educational product
available for purchase in a free market.
As we have argued, the principal driver of PT-E is the poor quality of school instruc-
tion in English. It is more popular in rural settings understandably because English
teaching is poorer in those settings producing more failures in English in school-
leaving exams (see Hamid, 2009). Low quality of teachers with limited proficiency in
English seems to be the main factor behind this educational failure. The fact that a
large number of school English teachers also operate as PT-E providers may raise the
question of professional ethics regardless of whether teacher participation is motivated
by low salaries or desires for quick material success or both (Khan, 2016). While the ques-
tion of the effectiveness of PT-E itself may not be ignored, people may resort to PT-E not
because of its proven effectiveness but because of their declining faith in school English
teaching.
The educational dynamics presented in the article call for a sense of urgency among
policy makers and school authorities to consider curricular and methodological overhaul-
ing to enhance English teaching efficiency and students’ learning outcomes in line with
students’ needs, preferences and concerns. At the same time, the curricular sector
needs to acknowledge the existence of the non-curricular learning space outside the
school and develop a clear understanding of the PT-E pedagogy.
We acknowledge that the focus of this article was not on English teaching or learning
per se in the non-curricular space. Our aim was to understand how this learning space is
perceived by students in terms of its value and effectiveness, particularly in relation to
school instruction. This provided an understanding of the phenomenon of PT-E and the
underlying reasons for its popularity in Bangladesh. We are also aware that we have
drawn on a single source of data and that self-report data have their limitations.
However, we were able to draw on the perceptions of a reasonably large sample of stu-
dents and produce some insights which encourage us to know more about this phenom-
enon as it becomes widespread in Bangladesh and other societies.

Notes
1. For instance, a leading Bangla newspaper conducted an online survey on whether the Govern-
ment could effectively ban private supplementary teaching on 24 February 2012 which was
responded by 1918 readers. Nearly 89% of respondents believed that the ban would not
work (www.prothom-alo.com).
2. Literally, one cannot drink tap water in Bangladesh without boiling. And public transport
hardly follows the official schedule.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
884 M. O. HAMID ET AL.

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