KUWAIT CITY, Jan 15: Kuwait has the highest rate of private tutoring among middle school students in the Gulf region, with 55 percent of eighth-grade students receiving extra lessons, according to regional data presented by education expert Professor Mark Bray at a recent education conference in Ras Al Khaimah.

Experts have cautioned that the widespread reliance on private tutoring, also known as “shadow education,” poses risks to students’ mental health, as the growing pressure to achieve top exam results can lead to stress, exhaustion, and burnout. Bray, holder of the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Education, noted that the phenomenon does not indicate weak schools, but rather reflects social competition. He warned that turning a child’s daily routine into a repetitive cycle of school, tutoring, and homework without time for rest or play can have serious psychological consequences.

Regional comparisons show that Saudi Arabia follows Kuwait with a 50 percent rate of private tutoring among eighth graders, Bahrain 49 percent, Oman 40 percent, and the UAE 36 percent. At the secondary level, Dubai reported 63 percent of students engaged in private tutoring, while Qatar recorded 56 percent.

Natasha Ridge, Executive Director of the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Public Policy Research, highlighted the financial burden on families, noting that low-income households may spend up to half of their income on extra lessons out of concern for their children’s academic future.

Both Bray and Ridge stressed that the demand for private tutoring is unlikely to disappear, even with improvements in school quality. Bray explained, “It grows in strong schools just as much as in weak ones. The fundamental motivation is competition, and that competition is not going away.” Ridge added that parents ultimately influence the market, saying, “If families demand schools that provide the full curriculum efficiently, reducing the need for private tutoring, schools will respond. That’s where the real impact lies.”