Are coaching centers replacing our classrooms?

Published on: May 10, 2026

By 2 PM, the school bell rings to signal the end of classes. By 3 PM, another bell rings to begin.

For thousands of students across Bangladesh, formal schooling no longer marks the end of the learning day. It merely signals a transition from one classroom to another. After school, they head to coaching centres that increasingly offer what many families believe schools no longer can: stronger academic support, better preparation, and a greater chance of success. What was once considered supplementary education has evolved into something far more dominant. Around the world, this phenomenon, widely known as shadow education, has grown from a parallel support system into a powerful force shaping national education systems.

This raises a difficult but urgent question: Are we quietly outsourcing our national education from public classrooms to the private market?

The Scale of the Shadow

This situation is a microcosm of a national trend. According to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Bangladeshi households cover nearly 71% of total education expenditure, with private tutoring accounting for a significant share. Studies by CAMPE (Campaign for Popular Education) reveal that educational costs for secondary-level students have risen by as much as 51%, largely driven by the "compulsory" nature of coaching and guidebooks.

A Crisis of Confidence

At its core, the rise of coaching culture reflects a deeper crisis: a declining confidence in formal education. Many parents increasingly view schools as insufficient to meet academic demands. Overcrowded classrooms, high teacher-to-student ratios, limited individual attention, and exam-oriented pressure leave many students struggling to keep pace. As a result, coaching centres are no longer seen as support systems. They are increasingly perceived as the real sites of learning, while schools risk becoming little more than formal institutions for attendance and certification.

The issue extends beyond institutions because it is also linked to educational credentials. The government introduced its Competency-Based New Curriculum (2024) to decrease rote memorisation of educational content. However, implementation remains slow and uneven. Without adequate funding, teacher preparation, and systemic support, reform struggles to translate into classroom reality. In that gap between policy and practice, coaching centres flourish—selling exactly what the old mindset still demands: prediction-based preparation, shortcuts, and exam-focused drilling.

The Human Cost of Efficiency

The learning process now operates through two different paths, which students follow for academic achievement rather than their natural learning needs. Many can recite textbook chapters flawlessly, yet struggle to apply even basic concepts in real-life contexts. This culture of spoon-feeding weakens independent thought. Perhaps most concerning of all, students gradually lose the joy of learning.

The Inequality Trap

Coaching culture also deepens educational inequality. The financial burden of coaching places immense strain on families. The Business Standard reports that private tutoring costs in urban areas reach twice the price of those in rural areas, resulting in a fragmented meritocracy. Success increasingly depends not on talent, effort, or potential, but on a family’s ability to pay for premium academic support. When educational achievement becomes tethered to financial privilege, education ceases to function as a social equaliser. Instead, it reinforces existing divides.

Reclaiming the Classroom

Regulating coaching centres alone will not solve this crisis. That addresses only the symptom, not the cause. The "shadow" will continue to exist until the classroom environment successfully meets students’ needs. Reclaiming the classroom requires fully implementing the competency-based curriculum through examination systems that reward understanding, application, and creativity rather than memorisation. At the same time, reducing class sizes, improving teacher training, and investing in professional development are essential for creating classrooms where students receive meaningful, individualised support. Beyond institutional reform, parents and society must also rethink what academic success truly means. A child’s understanding, confidence, and intellectual growth matter far more than a few extra marks on an exam sheet.

Education needs to remain within schools because it cannot be sustainably outsourced. Bangladesh’s coaching culture acts as a mirror, reflecting the weaknesses of our formal education system. It offers immediate academic reassurance but creates a long-term threat to curiosity, creativity, and students’ mental freedom. The challenge before educators and policymakers is not to compete with coaching centres on their terms, but to build classrooms so engaging, effective, and empowering that students no longer need to seek learning elsewhere. The goal should be simple: when the school bell rings at 2 PM, students should leave knowing that the day’s real learning is already complete.