Shadow Education in Africa: Private Supplementary Tutoring and its Policy Implications

Abstract

Across the African continent, households are devoting increasing expenditures to private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education, because it mimics school systems. As the curriculum changes in the schools, so it changes in the shadow. Much tutoring is delivered by regular teachers in public schools, who earn extra incomes through this activity. Other suppliers of tutoring include companies of various kinds. The tutoring may contribute to students’ achievement, but it exacerbates social inequalities, diverts resources from other uses, and can contribute to inefficiencies in education systems. Drawing on comparative analysis, this study examines the policy implications of shadow education. The analysis contributes to wider discussions on non-state actors in the education sector, particularly in the context of the fourth of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4).