Asia spending billions on tutors: study

[limlim]

3Boys:

Makes not one whit of difference to me.

Teachers allowed to moonlight outside giving tuition and possible neglect the school students. Does it make a difference for you?

[KSP]

Tuition, please


http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/schoolnews/1193528/Tuition_please.html

The New Paper | Tue Jul 10 2012


Five days a week without fail, this 15-year-old student goes for extra lessons after school.

And over the weekend, her only forms of leisure are a one-hour swimming class on Saturday evenings and a two-hour church session on Sunday mornings.

Other than meal times, it is one tuition class after another for Kimberly Lee, a Secondary 3 student in a neighbourhood school in the east.

Yet her housewife mother, Mrs Lee Im Chuan, does not feel that her daughter is having excessive tuition.

Mrs Lee, 50, says in a mix of Mandarin and English: \"If not for the extra help, my girl will not be able to cope with her studies.\"

\"It's not a case of being kiasi or kiasu, but it can be dire consequences if my girl fails her O-level exams,\" she says in exasperation.

Not that Kimberly is doing badly - she topped her cohort in Secondary 1and 2.

And for the first semestral examinations this year, she came in second.

But Mrs Lee is still unhappy. She says: \"See, this is what happens after I agree to cut one of her tuition classes - she ended up with a B3 for science (physics).\"

Needless to say, tuition in science for Kimberly has resumed since the June school holidays.

Which she is grateful for and \"appreciates tremendously\", says Kimberly.

\"Some of my friends laugh at me and think I'm being nerdy or dumb - depending on which way you want to see it - but I don't mind.\"

She adds: \"Without the tuition classes, I don't think I'd be able to cope with my school work, much less think about topping my class.

\"As it is, I was very disappointed that I didn't do well for my PSLE and couldn't get into any of my first four choices.\"

She had an aggregate score of 200 for the PSLE.

\"I appreciate that my dad (who is a private bus driver) and my mum are willing to sacrifice their own needs so that they can set aside the $1,200-odd (tuition) fees,\" Kimberly says.

\"In any case, I don't mind the hours because it means I'm using my time carefully and wisely.\"

And it's not only Singaporean parents such as Mrs Lee who are spending big money on tutors.

An Asian Development Bank study published on Wednesday, shows that Asian parents have spent billions of dollars on private tutors for their children.

Singapore spent US$680million in 2008 (S$865 million), while Japan spent US$12 billion, and the practice is growing despite doubts over its effectiveness, the report said.

In South Korea, nearly nine out of 10 elementary school pupils have private tutoring, while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state is six out of 10.

The report added that extra academic work is aimed at helping slow learners and supporting high achievers, and is seen by many Asian parents as a constructive wayfor adolescents to spend their spare time.

This, however, can reduce time for sports and other activities important for well-rounded development, as well as cause social tensions since richer families are able to pay for better-quality tutoring, the study says.

Mrs Kim Soo Ri, a South Korean mother, spends about US$800 on tuition for her only child, a nine-year-old boy.

Mrs Kim, 40, a restaurant manager in Seoul, says in English: \"The elementary school here does not offer very good English classes, so I pay for a British tutor to teach my son.

\"I hope we can move out of here (Seoul) if my son can get a place in one of the Singapore schools.\"

The New Paper on Sunday randomly polled 100 students from primary school (Primary 6) to junior college at Bishan MRT station on Friday, and 62 per cent ofthem said they have tuition.

The majority said they pay for extra help because they are weak in a subject.

Miss Chen,who declines to give her full name,is an exception to these cases.

Despite consistently scoring As for maths, she has been taking tuition in the subject since she was in Secondary 1.

The Raffles Institution (Junior College) student has done so after all her classmates started going for tuition - she wanted to be part of the \"in\" crowd.

Says the 18-year-old: \"I really like maths and I felt left out as everyone else was going for tuition classes.\"

Naval Base Secondary School student Jasper Tan, 16, is more representative of his peers.

He says:\"My foundation in English is not strong and I'm taking the O levels this year, that's why I'm having tuition.\"

Yet, there others who do it because they lack the self discipline to do it on their own - their parents pay for a \"baby sitter\".

Brian Lim, 16,from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School, admits to being \"lazy\" and that is why he is being tutored in chemistry and maths.

He admits: \"Having a tuition teacher in front of me forces me to practise.\"

Topping the tuition list in Singapore appears to be maths and Chinese.

Modular Education Centre's manager Helen Phoon, 54, told TNP that tuition for the two subjects is highly sought after.

Says Ms Phoon: \"Chinese is very important at the PSLE because if you don't do well, you can't enter the popular secondary schools.

\"As for mathematics - it's very challenging - many schools set exams at a standard that is higher than what they teach their students, so they come for tuition.\"

Retired teacher Ho Kong Loon, 65, says: \"There's no need for tuition if the student is doing well. \"The trouble is parents demand it because they want their kids to do well, and schools tolerate it because they want their rankings to go up.\"

National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan agrees.

Those who continue with tuition despite improved grades will have a \"crutch mentality\", says the associate professor.

\"It's not healthy because a child is not realising his or her potential,\" she maintains. \"Where is the independence to achieve things on their own?\"

Mr Ho adds that if students are not interested or motivated to have tuition, \"any improvement (in grades) will be marginal\".

Some students says they take tuition to score even better marks, or to beat the system.

Brian Foo, 18, a National Junior College student, who has tuition in economics and maths, says: \"A tutor helps you tackle hard questions (and teaches you) how to manipulate the content of what you've learnt to answer the question.\"

His reason does not surprise Associate Professor Straughan as \"enrichment classes and tuition centres serve to teach students to be exam-smart, rather than independent thinkers\".

As for those who do not take tuition, many of them feel it is unnecessary as they can do without it.

Dylan Wong, 15, from Whitley Secondary School, says: \"There's already too much homework from school. Having tuition will add to the stress.\"

Melvin Chia, 16, also from Whitley Secondary School, admits that he cannot afford to have tuition.

But he says: \"The teachers in my school are good and they are willing to help.\"

That should be the way to go as \"schools are already providing supplementary and remedial lessons\", says Mr Ho.

Tuition centres, however, serve to create \"anxiety\" in parents, Associate Professor Straughan believes.

She says: \"Parents have become insecure - it's not good enough to pass exams any more - you have to be in the top 10 or 1 per cent.

\"Why? Because our education system has become too competitive with all the elite tracks that we've created.

\"And we've invested so much in our children, equating advanced education with upward mobility for the family - all this is fuelling the tuition industry and stressing the child.\"

http://static.edvantage.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/edvantage/1193528/topImage/Tuition_please-topImage.jpg\">

This article was first published in The New Paper.

[3Boys]

limlim:

3Boys:

[quote=\"limlim\"]
But, the effect of the tuition and enrichment industry on the overall quality of education delivered by MOE, is WHAT we are concerned about.

And do you ANY data to show that the quality of education in our schools have been eroded by the presence of tuition centres?

Don't talk about parents who keep asking for more and more, and the teachers then asking them to go for tuition on that basis, it is not the role of schools to substitute for high intensity hot-housing.

No Data doesn't mean it is not a problem.

Does the govt produce ANY data before CRA was set up? If you do not have a dept for that, how are you going to produce DATA?

pre-empt, or wait until the damage is beyond repair?

I am not talking about High intensity hot housing. I am concerned with the CORE education.

Like I said, those kiasu parent going for tuition for high scores, let them be.

We must ensure that core education program must not be negativity affected by the booming tuition industry.[/quote]So in lieu of data, MY anecdotal feel is that the schools are delivering far more content these days, and more effectively, then when I was schooling. For the same level of ability at entry, they are coming out with more knowledge and skills than in my day. That is MY data, and therefore, I don't see that there is a problem.

[verykiasu2010]

KSP:

Tuition, please


http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/schoolnews/1193528/Tuition_please.html

The New Paper | Tue Jul 10 2012


Five days a week without fail, this 15-year-old student goes for extra lessons after school.

And over the weekend, her only forms of leisure are a one-hour swimming class on Saturday evenings and a two-hour church session on Sunday mornings.

Other than meal times, it is one tuition class after another for Kimberly Lee, a Secondary 3 student in a neighbourhood school in the east.

Yet her housewife mother, Mrs Lee Im Chuan, does not feel that her daughter is having excessive tuition.

Mrs Lee, 50, says in a mix of Mandarin and English: \"If not for the extra help, my girl will not be able to cope with her studies.\"

\"It's not a case of being kiasi or kiasu, but it can be dire consequences if my girl fails her O-level exams,\" she says in exasperation.

Not that Kimberly is doing badly - she topped her cohort in Secondary 1and 2.

And for the first semestral examinations this year, she came in second.

But Mrs Lee is still unhappy. She says: \"See, this is what happens after I agree to cut one of her tuition classes - she ended up with a B3 for science (physics).\"

Needless to say, tuition in science for Kimberly has resumed since the June school holidays.

Which she is grateful for and \"appreciates tremendously\", says Kimberly.

\"Some of my friends laugh at me and think I'm being nerdy or dumb - depending on which way you want to see it - but I don't mind.\"

She adds: \"Without the tuition classes, I don't think I'd be able to cope with my school work, much less think about topping my class.

\"As it is, I was very disappointed that I didn't do well for my PSLE and couldn't get into any of my first four choices.\"

She had an aggregate score of 200 for the PSLE.

\"I appreciate that my dad (who is a private bus driver) and my mum are willing to sacrifice their own needs so that they can set aside the $1,200-odd (tuition) fees,\" Kimberly says.

\"In any case, I don't mind the hours because it means I'm using my time carefully and wisely.\"

And it's not only Singaporean parents such as Mrs Lee who are spending big money on tutors.

An Asian Development Bank study published on Wednesday, shows that Asian parents have spent billions of dollars on private tutors for their children.

Singapore spent US$680million in 2008 (S$865 million), while Japan spent US$12 billion, and the practice is growing despite doubts over its effectiveness, the report said.

In South Korea, nearly nine out of 10 elementary school pupils have private tutoring, while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state is six out of 10.

The report added that extra academic work is aimed at helping slow learners and supporting high achievers, and is seen by many Asian parents as a constructive way for adolescents to spend their spare time.

This, however, can reduce time for sports and other activities important for well-rounded development, as well as cause social tensions since richer families are able to pay for better-quality tutoring, the study says.

Mrs Kim Soo Ri, a South Korean mother, spends about US$800 on tuition for her only child, a nine-year-old boy.

Mrs Kim, 40, a restaurant manager in Seoul, says in English: \"The elementary school here does not offer very good English classes, so I pay for a British tutor to teach my son.

\"I hope we can move out of here (Seoul) if my son can get a place in one of the Singapore schools.\" oh no !

The New Paper on Sunday randomly polled 100 students from primary school (Primary 6) to junior college at Bishan MRT station on Friday, and 62 per cent of them said they have tuition.

The majority said they pay for extra help because they are weak in a subject.

Miss Chen,who declines to give her full name,is an exception to these cases.

Despite consistently scoring As for maths, she has been taking tuition in the subject since she was in Secondary 1.

The Raffles Institution (Junior College) student has done so after all her classmates started going for tuition - she wanted to be part of the \"in\" crowd.

Says the 18-year-old: \"I really like maths and I felt left out as everyone else was going for tuition classes.\"

Naval Base Secondary School student Jasper Tan, 16, is more representative of his peers.

He says:\"My foundation in English is not strong and I'm taking the O levels this year, that's why I'm having tuition.\"

Yet, there others who do it because they lack the self discipline to do it on their own - their parents pay for a \"baby sitter\".

Brian Lim, 16,from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School, admits to being \"lazy\" and that is why he is being tutored in chemistry and maths.

He admits: \"Having a tuition teacher in front of me forces me to practise.\"

Topping the tuition list in Singapore appears to be maths and Chinese.

Modular Education Centre's manager Helen Phoon, 54, told TNP that tuition for the two subjects is highly sought after.

Says Ms Phoon: \"Chinese is very important at the PSLE because if you don't do well, you can't enter the popular secondary schools.

\"As for mathematics - it's very challenging - many schools set exams at a standard that is higher than what they teach their students, so they come for tuition.\"

Retired teacher Ho Kong Loon, 65, says: \"There's no need for tuition if the student is doing well. \"The trouble is parents demand it because they want their kids to do well, and schools tolerate it because they want their rankings to go up.\"

National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan agrees.

Those who continue with tuition despite improved grades will have a \"crutch mentality\", says the associate professor.

\"It's not healthy because a child is not realising his or her potential,\" she maintains. \"Where is the independence to achieve things on their own?\"

Mr Ho adds that if students are not interested or motivated to have tuition, \"any improvement (in grades) will be marginal\".

Some students says they take tuition to score even better marks, or to beat the system.

Brian Foo, 18, a National Junior College student, who has tuition in economics and maths, says: \"A tutor helps you tackle hard questions (and teaches you) how to manipulate the content of what you've learnt to answer the question.\"

His reason does not surprise Associate Professor Straughan as \"enrichment classes and tuition centres serve to teach students to be exam-smart, rather than independent thinkers\".

As for those who do not take tuition, many of them feel it is unnecessary as they can do without it.

Dylan Wong, 15, from Whitley Secondary School, says: \"There's already too much homework from school. Having tuition will add to the stress.\"

Melvin Chia, 16, also from Whitley Secondary School, admits that he cannot afford to have tuition.

But he says: \"The teachers in my school are good and they are willing to help.\"

That should be the way to go as \"schools are already providing supplementary and remedial lessons\", says Mr Ho.

Tuition centres, however, serve to create \"anxiety\" in parents, Associate Professor Straughan believes.

She says: \"Parents have become insecure - it's not good enough to pass exams any more - you have to be in the top 10 or 1 per cent.

\"Why? Because our education system has become too competitive with all the elite tracks that we've created.

\"And we've invested so much in our children, equating advanced education with upward mobility for the family - all this is fuelling the tuition industry and stressing the child.\"


This article was first published in The New Paper.

emphasis added

[Busymom]

limlim:

3Boys:

[quote=\"autumnbronze\"]
Just started reading from pg1.

So what should the state do then, since it's a social problem?? Come up with YET another 'fine' :evil: :evil:

I honestly find it very befuddling why in this era when people are railing AGAINST a nanny state, that the same people are asking for even MORE government intervention. Shed those apron strings, for heaven's sake.

When they remove the casino entrance levy and all the restrictions on heartland shuttle bus services, then we talk about not being a nanny state.[/quote]How can gambling and going for tuition be compared on the same basis? :?

One can become an addiction and potentially break up a family, the other... :scratchhead:

[verykiasu2010]

Busymom:

How can gambling and going for tuition be compared on the same basis? :?

One can become an addiction and potentially break up a family, the other... :scratchhead:

people can become addicted to tuition because they feel empty and use-less when there is no tuition, don't know how to occupy their time, suffer withdrawal symptom, and it can break up a family's piggy bank

[autumnbronze]

limlim:

autumnbronze:

[quote=\"limlim\"]

Surely, the \"kiasu\" parents have a hand in it.......

However, shd the state stand by and do nothing..?

it's not whether the truth hurts.. but what can be done to alleviate the problem..

Instead of just declaring that \"oh, it is cause by parents.. end of story..\"

When there is a social problem, the state have an obligation to deal with it..

Just started reading from pg1.

So what should the state do then, since it's a social problem?? Come up with YET another 'fine' :evil: :evil:

You read from pg one and did not see any suggestions?

Apparently, you only read what you want to read.[/quote]Apparently, so do you.

Don't be offended leh, just because I am not in your camp wrt to
issues pertaining to the negative aura that is being spread about teachers
and MOE in the guise of coming up with 'effective' solutions.

Some concrete data to share, rather than the merry go round mulberry bush metaphors and analogies, some of them not relevant, should suffice instead. Again, please do not be offended if I am not impressed by the latter.

Why have an axe to grind towards those who do not share similar
views, speak out with regard to what is truly happening in the teaching industry as what a few others have posted in similar threads in the past or teachers/MOE per se.

Frankly, it's just recycling of the same ole same ole bashing of teacher/MOE
YET again. Really sian.

Thank goodness there is some measure of balance in the sharing of views in
this thread, at least.

Just frankly sharing, once again please don't get offended k.

Peace :xedfingers:

[KSP]

verykiasu2010:

Busymom:

How can gambling and going for tuition be compared on the same basis? :?

One can become an addiction and potentially break up a family, the other... :scratchhead:

people can become addicted to tuition because they feel empty and use-less when there is no tuition, don't know how to occupy their time, suffer withdrawal symptom, and it can break up a family's piggy bank

alamak!!! can tuition until bankrupt? then all $$$ lenders out there can start giving out flyers \"need $$$ for tuition? pls contact XXX, lowest interest rates guaranteed\"

[autumnbronze]

:thankyou: KSP, for sharing this article.


A balanced point of view.

[KSP]

frankly speaking if i can come across any parents who can say \"tuition??? please lah!!! where got time???\" then i will :udawoman: :udaman:


anyone here?