Demand for Private Tutoring during COVID-19: An Initial Scoping Exercise for Sri Lanka

Thematic Area:

This study is an initial scoping exercise to gain some perspective on current trends in the demand for private tutoring in Sri Lanka, and how they have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also attempts to examine: (1) implications of such changes on access to and quality of private tutoring received; (2) changes in the perceived role of the private tutoring industry in relation to mainstream education; and (3) its projected future trajectory.

Primary data for the study is obtained via an online survey and key informant interviews among school students, teachers, tutors, and parents. Analysis is conducted by gender, socioeconomic group, level of study, subject, location, and mode and type of tuition class. A better understanding of these trends, would ideally, facilitate further research into the sector and subsequently to policy frameworks that promote access to quality education for all students, leading to effective learning outcomes.