Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States Holds Symposium on the Reality, Challenges, and Future Policies of 'Shadow Education'

The Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States organized a symposium on Monday, July 20, 2026, via video conferencing, titled 'Shadow Education: Reality, Challenges, and Future Policies'. The symposium was presented by international expert on shadow education, Dr. Mark Bray, and moderated by Ms. Suha Saleh Hamada, Director General of School Affairs at the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Dr. Mark Bray defined shadow education as paid academic tutoring that complements formal education and mirrors its curricula. He also reviewed the spread of this phenomenon in the Middle East, its various forms including individual and group lessons, educational centers, and online platforms and courses. Dr. Bray discussed the potential impacts of shadow education on academic achievement, noting that results depend on factors such as teacher efficiency, student motivation, and the nature of the programs offered. He pointed out that tutoring can help students keep up with peers but may also widen educational and social gaps due to disparities in families' and regions' access to additional educational opportunities. The symposium also addressed key factors driving the demand for tutoring, including social competition, peer pressure, high-stakes tests affecting students' educational futures, and the expansion of commercial institutions and centers offering these services.

During the symposium, the Director General of the Arab Bureau of Education, Dr. Mohammed bin Saud Al-Muqbil, emphasized that organizing this symposium is part of the Bureau's interest in issues and transformations affecting educational systems, and its commitment to providing a space for professional dialogue and exchange of knowledge and expertise on priority topics for member states.

Al-Muqbil said: 'Studying the phenomenon of shadow education and understanding its educational, social, and economic dimensions is an important step towards building more balanced educational policies that respond to changes, enhance the quality of education, preserve the principle of equal opportunity, and support the ability of educational systems to meet the needs of students and communities.'

He added that effectively dealing with this phenomenon requires relying on reliable data and studies, benefiting from international experiences, and strengthening integration among educational and research bodies to develop frameworks and policies that take into account the specificity of Gulf societies and support the efficiency and quality of formal education.

The symposium concluded with an emphasis on the importance of developing more accurate databases on the phenomenon, regulating the practices of teachers and educational centers, enhancing specialized studies and research, and benefiting from successful international experiences in dealing with shadow education.