• Impact on child/student well-being, efficacy of private tuition in terms of quality of education, and concerns of overcharging push demand for regulation

Private tuition has become a highly controversial feature of Sri Lanka’s education landscape, serving as both a vital support system for students and a source of growing concern, with many calling for regulation and taxation.

Private tuition, widely sought for a range of subjects in the GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level, addresses disparities in teaching quality, especially in rural regions where access to high-standard education is limited. Many students start tuition in early grades, underscoring the depth of dependence in the informal private education sector in Sri Lanka.

Entrenched perceptions about education in the island have also compounded the issue, with parents – in their pursuit to get their children into ‘elite schools’ in the cities – pushing children as young as eight or nine years of age to attend multiple tuition classes throughout the year, hoping they will prepare the child to ace the strict regime of the selection examination in Grade 5.

Despite the benefits, private tuition has sparked numerous problems. Affordability remains a major issue, with low-income families bearing significant financial burdens in addition to free public education. Tuition fees fluctuate widely, hitting families hardest during economic downturns.

There also seems to be a cloak of secrecy over the industry, as it is not held accountable by any State apparatus, and many in the sector, despite being Government-trained teachers, shun transparency in relation to the lucrative private tuition industry .  

A private tuition teacher speaking on the basis of anonymity revealed that Rs. 3,000 was currently being charged per two-hour class from students from international schools studying Ordinary Level English under the Edexcel curriculum.

For Advanced Level students, the fee amounts to Rs. 5,000 for the same subject, while students from non-international schools are charged Rs. 3,000 for both Ordinary and Advanced Level classes.

Ethical concerns have also surfaced, including reports of cheating and exam paper leaks. Earlier this year, the Sinhala language year-end term test paper was reportedly leaked by certain teachers in the North Central Province to favour students seeking private tuition from them.

Regulatory proposals

Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union (CTSU) President Dhammika Alahapperuma echoed the need for regulation and professional standards.

“When it comes to regulations, the first is that teacher training must be provided to all current and future tuition teachers. An authority must be established that will ensure there are standards set out for the private tuition industry. A paper qualification should also be provided through formal teacher training programmes for tuition teachers. It could be in the form of an official licence to teach as a private tuition teacher.” 

He further called for tuition fee regulation to make sure no injustice was done to students and their parents, noting: “There must be standards with regard to the fees that are charged by private tutors. For example, online tuition classes have minimal costs for the tutor but they charge exorbitant amounts from these students. There must be regulation in this context as well.”

In addition, Alahapperuma asserted that tuition teachers should be taxed depending on their income. “Taxation is also important because now there are many who are doing it as businessmen. Some are millionaires from simply conducting group tuition classes. As such, they should be taxed as a business in accordance with new regulations,” he noted.

Alahapperuma also called for Government oversight for the industry. “A State education council is to be established in the near future, so the Government can include private tuition teachers as a subgroup under this council, and this way, all private tuition teachers can register – just like all doctors are registered with the Sri Lanka Medical Council in order to practise.”

Need to bolster State education

Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) General Secretary, Senior Lecturer Charudaththe Illangasinghe emphasised the need to bolster State education to reduce reliance on private tuition.

“FUTA is not for or against the private tuition industry. What we believe is that it’s more important to strengthen State education because that will negate the reason for the dependence on private tuition. If the Government provides students with the necessary facilities and gives proper training to teachers in the State sector, then the average student will not need to seek private tuition.”

Illangasinghe pointed out that tuition often prioritised passing exams over genuine learning – an allegation which has long plagued Sri Lanka’s over-competitive ‘free’ education system.

“It has also become a trend for tuition classes to focus on passing the exams and not focusing on teaching the actual subject. This means the student is solely learning how to sit for certain exams. The students’ skills and knowledge are not developed, but they are instead taught what the exam paper will include and how to write answers in a certain way.”

He further warned that student dependence on tuition may diminish engagement in school lessons, undermining the education system’s purpose.

“As a result of students’ dependency on private tuition to get through their exams, they don’t pay attention in school where they are taught the subject in depth. This defeats the purpose of the education system.”

Highlighting the toll on students’ well-being, he stated: “Another reason for concern is the mental health of students because of the amount of studying they are forced to do on a daily basis; they begin the day with school and then go for private tuition after school, sometimes multiple classes, and only return home at night. As such, the children don’t have time and space to be children, to relax and have fun. This can have negative impacts on their psyche.” 

Illangasinghe also expressed concerns about the commercialisation of tuition, noting: “We see even individuals who have just graduated from university start tuition classes because it is that lucrative. But the problem here is that the standard of education by these novice teachers is questionable as they have not gone through or been given any formal teacher training. So in this context, we do agree that some level of regulation and standards must be established.”

He added that many State schoolteachers turned to tuition as a supplementary income due to low salaries. “A key factor behind the increasing number of tuition teachers and classes is because a lot of teachers in State education are severely underpaid and so look to tuition to bring in an additional revenue source.”

Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Nalin Hewage said that the Government would seek to regulate the private tuition industry. 

“There has been a proposal to bring in regulation for private tuition classes. It’s still in early stages of discussion and it is yet to be decided what sort of regulations will be introduced,” he said.