Private tutoring is a phenomenon that has escaped the attention of researchers, educational planners, and decision-makers. Very little is known about its scope, scale, and effects on pupil’s achievement and equality of opportunities. Because of its size in a number of countries, and due to its nature – that of a private service oriented at improving academic performance – private tutoring has important implications for the educational system as a whole that cannot be ignored by education policies. Mark Bray makes an important contribution to the debate through his systematization of available information and his analysis of this phenomenon. He asks the critical questions: “What is private tutoring and what are its manifestations?” “Who supplies and demands this service?” “What effects does it have on the formal education system?” and “What are the policy options facing education planners?”.
