Private tutoring expenditure: An empirical analysis based on Sri Lankan households

摘要

This study analyzes private tutoring expenditure in Sri Lanka using two decades of household survey data combined with school census data. We use descriptive statistics and regression analysis as well as a factor decomposition method to explore the role of various factors affecting household private tutoring expenditure. Empirical results suggest that household private tutoring expenditure have continuously risen over the years. The household socioeconomic status is factor with strong influence and relative importance affecting household private tutoring expenses. There appears to be ethnic disparities in household private tutoring expenditure. Moreover, results also suggest that spending on private tutoring could be reduced if standardized school teacher rates at a district level are increased. If the observed trends in private tutoring continue, they can have social implications for education equity, which can undermine the objective of the free education policy in Sri Lanka.