M. Bray et al. (eds), Private Tutoring across the Mediterranean, 187–204. © 2013 Sense Publishers and Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies. All rights reserved. HÜLYA KOùAR ALTINYELKEN 12. THE DEMAND FOR PRIVATE TUTORING IN TURKEY Unintended Consequences of Curriculum Reform ABSTRACT This chapter focuses on the private tutoring phenomenon in Turkey. It seeks to analyse the impact of the revision of primary school curriculum on the demand for private tutoring. It also outlines various academic, economic and social implications of this phenomenon. Based on interviews with school management and teachers in eight public schools in Ankara, the chapter discusses the perceived contradictions and tensions in relation to the introduction of competency based curriculum in a highly exam-oriented education system. It highlights teachers’ concerns with regard to student learning and the implications of learning ‘less’ in mainstream schools on students’ further educational and career possibilities. The majority of teachers who participated in this study believed that the revised curriculum has inadvertently contributed to the intensification of the demand for private tutoring. The chapter underscores the importance of aligning education policies in order to avoid such unintended consequences. INTRODUCTION Private tutoring is a burgeoning industry in Turkey, responding to a market niche driven mainly by entrance examinations to universities and prestigious secondary schools. It has recorded dramatic increases in the past two decades, and the expansion has reached such a scale in recent years that some people view the sector as being ‘out of control’. Private tutoring is a controversial and heated topic among educationalists, politicians and the general public, indicating rather contentious opinions and feelings about the sector. It is not uncommon to observe statements in the media referring to private tutoring as a ‘malaise’, or as a phenomenon that erodes the public education system, or as a major equity issue. In the past, a number of politicians have attempted to abolish private tutoring centres (PTCs) (Tansel & Bircan, 2008) or made promises to eliminate them (Milliyet, 2012), but until now these attempts have failed. The issue became an important topic of discussion after the announcement by Prime Minister Erdo÷an in March 2012 that he was determined to eradicate PTCs by transforming some of these centres into private schools and more importantly by eliminating the demand for private