Navigating the Tutoring Dilemma: Balancing Necessity and Commercialization in Family Budgets

What started as simple academic support has grown into a massive parallel education system that's reshaping how students learn across the Middle East. Private tutoring now costs families thousands of dirhams monthly and creates a two-tier education system where wealthy students get extra help while others fall behind.

Dr. Aisha Al-Janahi, a family and education specialist, says private tutoring has become one of the biggest challenges facing education systems today. The phenomenon stems from overcrowded classrooms, varying school quality, exam pressure, and families' push for university success. But here's the problem: what began as educational support has turned into a profitable market that feeds on parents' fears of failure.

The impact cuts both ways. Some students improve their grades through one-on-one attention that addresses their specific weaknesses. But this system undermines schools and creates unfair advantages. Students from well-off families get additional learning opportunities while those from lower-income households miss out, widening the education gap.

Teachers enter the private tutoring market for different reasons. Some genuinely want to help students understand concepts that classroom time doesn't allow for proper explanation. Others see it as a way to boost their income. With rising family demand, some teachers have turned tutoring into full commercial operations, advertising on social media and charging hundreds of dirhams per session.

Shaikha Saleh Al-Mukhaini, a science teacher at Al-Ramaqiya School, points to weak curricula and traditional teaching methods that ignore individual student differences. The pressure to achieve high grades for prestigious university programs drives families toward tutoring, especially when students have gaps from poor early education.

The financial burden is real. Um Khalid spends 1,200 dirhams monthly on private lessons for her high school son, while Um Mahra pays around 4,000 dirhams monthly for four children. These costs have made tutoring a necessity rather than a choice for many families, despite the financial strain.

Mansour Abdullah Al-Housani, who specializes in agricultural sciences and previously offered private tutoring, notes that many students feel classroom explanations aren't enough. The compressed curricula and exam pressure make tutoring feel essential. From his experience teaching science subjects, he saw students significantly improve their understanding and achieve better learning outcomes.

The long-term consequences worry education experts. Over-reliance on private tutoring could weaken confidence in schools and turn education into a commodity that can be purchased. This threatens educational equality and national education quality while creating divisions between students based on economic status rather than ability or effort.

Some schools have started offering free support sessions and study groups. Education ministries have launched digital platforms with additional learning content. But these initiatives need broader development and implementation to match the scale of private tutoring.

Experts suggest several solutions: officially register private tutors to ensure quality, improve school-level teaching through teacher training on modern methods, provide free academic support within schools or through digital platforms, and educate parents about the risks of excessive dependence on private tutoring.

The challenge requires balanced solutions that combine oversight and regulation while providing effective alternatives within schools. Only this approach can ensure all students get equal educational opportunities without financial and commercial pressures that currently define the tutoring market.