Weaving Together Two Parallel Worlds of Education-Private Tuitions and Schools

In recent years, private tuition has emerged as a major force as results of both demand and market mechanisms. In terms of its nature, extent, and importance, it is in fact, comparable to the formal system. It is like a shadow of the formal system (Bray, 1999). I believe private tuition, which is running parallel to the main education system undoubtedly is playing an important yet unnoticed role, thus impacting the education market immensely. The essence of private tuition(PT) lies in helping a child who is lagging behind in the class by providing support in terms of more attention and additional hours. However, teachers are using it as an additional source of income even if it violates the rule of RTE. Drawing from a nationally representative data of ASER 2007 in addition to a qualitative field-based study in Bangalore, I have attempted to document the possible effects of private tuitions in High literacy and Low literacy states. Private tuitions in Low literacy states have a greater significant positive impact on learning outcomes of a child than in High literacy states. This study aims to propose a policy framework which will enable all the students who are lagging behind irrespective of their socio- economic status to access additional quality support. The paper also suggests a way to recruit more trained teachers in the education system in order to enhance students’ learning outcomes.