A REVIEW OF CAMBODIAN PRIVATE TUTORING: PARASITIC AND SYMBIOTIC FUNCTIONS TOWARDS THE MAINSTREAM SYSTEM

Abstract

Offering private tutoring (PT) to their students is legal in Cambodia. However, teachers are banned from engaging in PT during official hours and holidays. Literature has proven common root causes across contexts such as low salaries, class size, insufficient instructional times and high-stakes examinations. With a new attempt, this narrative paper aims to discuss PT and its effects from the different stakeholders’ perspectives and to reflect PT functions towards mainstream education. On the one hand, symbiosis generates a ‘dependency system,’ divided into two relationships such as ‘commensalism’ between PT and the mainstream system, and ‘mutualism’ between supply and demand side including the mainstream system. On the other hand, parasitism (professional misconduct) exists owing to policy implementers’ laissez-faire approach in exercising the approved codes of conducts. Hence, the parasitism remains in the public classrooms owing to the lack of accountability and monitoring system of the in-charge stakeholders. Its presence enlarges the capacity of the dependency system to cast a shadow over the incomplete shape and size of the mainstream system. Thus, it should be alerted that when it is oversized, this symbiotic function may downplay the mainstream system and moves it away from the core attention of the demand side.   Keywords: Cambodia, extra lesson, private tuition, shadow education, supplementary tutoring.   Cite as: Soeung, S. (2021). A review of Cambodian private tutoring: Parasitic and symbiotic functions towards the mainstream system.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 42-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp42-58