Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

Education, Social Justice and Corruption
As elsewhere in Asia, private supplementary tutoring is now a major phenomenon
across Central Asia and Mongolia. In the late 2000s, a cross-national study
covering three Central Asian countries revealed that 64.8 per cent of students
surveyed in Kazakhstan and 52.5 per cent in Kyrgyzstan were receiving
supplementary private tutoring during the final grade of secondary school
(the proportion is today almost certainly higher); the study also highlighted
the negative implications of private tutoring, including exacerbating social
inequalities and fuelling corruption in mainstream schools (Silova, 2009b). At
around the same time, a study focusing on Mongolia revealed that over twothirds
of students surveyed had received private tutoring; it also revealed that
the percentage of students receiving private tutoring stood at more than 70 per
cent amongst those residing in the capital (Ulaanbaatar) and whose parents had
received higher education (bachelor’s degree or higher) (MEA and OSIESP, 2005).
The proportion of
students being tutored
by their own teachers
is large across Central
Asia, compared to other
countries of the former
socialist bloc
While the transition to a market economy
has contributed to generating new education
opportunities for many youngsters, it also
led to unequal educational opportunities and
outcomes and eroded teaching as an autonomous
profession. For Silova (2009b), the scale of
private tutoring in Central Asia not only reflects
‘a dramatic crisis of confidence in mainstream
schooling’ (p. 169) but also the stark reality that
‘education has become a public sector conducive
to corruption’ (p. 171). Various factors interact to invite corruption, but perhaps
the most important is the low salary level of civil servants, including teachers.
The proportion of students being tutored by their own teachers is large across
Central Asia, compared to other countries of the former socialist bloc. To
compensate for their low salaries, some teachers intentionally withhold part of
the syllabus in their regular classes, thus incentivising their students to pay for
out-of-school tutoring. Indeed, ‘students frequently report being extorted by
their teachers to use private tutoring on a regular basis’ (p. 169).
‘Shadow education’ aside, even initiatives aiming
at improving the quality of formal schooling can
sometimes have unintended consequences in
terms of aggravating inequality and social injustice.
For example, when governments choose particular
schools as partners or laboratories piloting
innovative programs or approaches, this tends to
make certain public schools more prestigious than
their ‘ordinary’ counterparts. In Mongolia, though
high-performing or relatively prestigious public
‘Shadow education’
aside, even initiatives
aiming at improving
the quality of formal
schooling can sometimes
have unintended
consequences in terms
of aggravating inequality
and social injustice
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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