Asia spending billions on tutors: study
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3Boys:
Agreed. Agreed.
:goodpost: :goodpost:autumnbronze:
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Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally.
All the myth circulating, posing as truth. -
ksi:
Yes I agree ksi. It would be good to get to the numbers. And indeed, business people have to also be opportunists.
Back to this article, the finding for Singapore is in $$$, they should give an indication of % of students like other countries. Also, enrichment and tuition should be differentiated. To be candid, such articles only prompt the tuition centres to work harder because they realise out of $680M, they are getting only a small fraction, so unless they go by the % of children on TUITION, the problem is still not well-defined.KSP:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/asia-spending-billions-tutors-study-223633801.html
Asian parents are spending billions of dollars on private tutors for their children, and the practice is growing despite doubts over its effectiveness, according to a study published Wednesday.
\"Shadow education\" is an expanding business not only in wealthy countries but also in some of the region's poorer nations as parents try to give their children the best start in life, the Asian Development Bank said.
Nearly nine out of 10 South Korean elementary pupils have private tutoring, while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state is six out of 10.
\"Proportions are lower in other countries, but throughout the region the shadow is spreading and intensifying,\" the study said, calling for a review of education systems to make such extra teaching less attractive.
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.
However, it can also 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 said.
It estimated that the costs of private tutoring in South Korea were equivalent to 80 percent of government spending on public education.
Japan spent $12 billion on extra teaching in 2010, while the figure for Singapore was US$680 million in 2008.
In Hong Kong, where 85 percent of senior secondary students receive tutoring, companies advertise the services of \"star\" tutors, on television, newspapers and the back of buses, the study said.
\"Expenses are lower in other countries, but they are headed in the same direction,\" it added.
But despite its popularity, particularly in East Asia, tutoring has had mixed results, said the study, conducted with the University of Hong Kong's Comparative Education Research Centre.
\"Much depends not only on the motivations and abilities of the students but also on the motivations and abilities of the tutors,\" it said.
\"In many countries, individuals can become tutors without training, and the effectiveness of some forms of tutoring is doubtful.\"
The study called for state supervision and regulation of the industry, as well as a review of Asia's educational systems.
\"They should ask why it (tutoring) exists in the first place, and what can be done in the mainstream to make supplementary tutoring less desirable and necessary.\" -
ksi:
I can see your point and agree with your recommendation. In doing so, it improves the quality of education service providers and perhaps reduce some of them who cannot qualify so this raises our STANDARD of education. Will it reduce the demand for tuition? It may cause the qualified ones to expand their operations and make them richer. Just a thought - for discussion.oxyleo:
Hi ksi,
Yes \"regulation\" is a very broad word, so perhaps we can narrow it down to something softer, lighter, and along the principle of self-regulation, so to speak. I'm thinking more along the lines of an association, with members made up by the tuition centres and individual tutors. The association gets some funding, if deemed appropriate, by MOE, which then co-assists the association's lead members in sharing and encouraging best practices, offers certification etc
Take a look at the role/mission/ code of practice adopted by these two associations for banks and retailers respectively, in Singapore:
http://www.abs.org.sg/aboutus_management.php
http://www.retail.org.sg/
What we have then is a promotion of best practices across members- the tuition agencies and tutors, and a soft approach towards encouraging a code of practices. Some good practices, like not Misrepresenting/ falsifying claims, with slightly more definition, can be applied to Tuition centres.
In fact, the tuition industry may also mirror what is carried out in the broader business world. Businesses get recognized for doing their part in the area of Corporate Social responsibility , and are awarded by business associations. The aim of this is to remind organizations to not just focus on profit and numbers, but also to contribute to the greater good. In education, a good educator embraces 有教无类, which means the willingness to teach anyone who is willing to learn. This tuition association could certainly recognize and give awards/ accolades to tutors/ tuition centres who teach not just high achieving/ gep kids, but also the needy for free/ at subsidized rates, and teach all categories of children, vs those that only want to teach the creme ala creme. (Ahem)
Let's remember that the users of the tuition centres are mere children, some starting as young as 2-3 years of age and upwards. If there is any other place that requires service providers to be exemplary in good practices, the tuition industry ought to be one of them.
Swim/ sports coaches themselves join the Singapore Sports Council for certification, I believe. Not sure if it's mandatory though. I recall years back when a swim coach was tried in court for something along the lines of molestation/indecency, some parents, who had children learning under this coach, queried as to why he was allowed to continue teaching when he was already under investigation. It was then discovered that he was not certified unde SSC, which would otherwise have flagged him out (assuming no admin hiccups).
Glad to have your consensus on this ksi. Yes, finding a cure to the current \"madness\" is a tough road ahead. I see the encouragement of best practices across the industry more as a method to the madness. Haha!
You've also raised a valid point that the qualified ones will probably emerge even stronger, but that hopefully also goes in tandem with fellow members checking each other for best practices and behaviour in line with the ethos of education. An obligation to uphold ethics in the eyes of other industry players. -
3Boys:
what myth?
:goodpost: :goodpost:autumnbronze:
.
Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally.
All the myth circulating, posing as truth. -
limlim:
There were. Maybe you didn't see the comments.
I just talk about ways that could improve the quality of education offered by MOE, and also measures to reduce the negative effects of excessive unnecessary tuition.
No one engages the points directly, or challenge the harm of regulating the industry, but at best come up with terms like \"nanny state\".
Sure, if SG is not a nanny state, why set up CRA?
First, your suggestion about linking the no. of students who go for enrichment/tuition to the school principal/teachers' KPI. Someone posted the comment that this would not capture the whole picture as there will always be those who have stay-at-home parents/grandparents to help coach or enrich the child. That is a valid point. If this is to be linked to KPI, it has to be fair measure and capture the whole picture, not just a segment of it. If I am a teacher and my KPI is linked to such a criteria, an unfair one in my view (since even if I teach the kids passionately and properly, I can't stop parents who may still want to send their children for more enrichment), I probably wouldn't want to make teaching a career to begin with.
Second, your suggestion that MOE should not allow its teachers to moonlight. While I agree that too much moonlighting may interfere with one's duties in school, isn't there already some restriction imposed by MOE on this as posted by someone earlier (Jedamum I think), like not exceeding a certain no. of hours per week? So is your position one of (i) the restriction is too lax; (ii) there is evidence teachers are flouting the restriction; or (iii) there shouldn't be any moonlighting by school teachers, period? If your position is (iii), what right does MOE have to tell its teachers that they are not suppose to moonlight? It is one's livelihood afterall.
Third, your suggestion about regulating advertisements by the tuition/enrichment centres. That to me should be caveat emptor. Not that it is not good for us consumers for advertisements to be regulated, etc., but have you thought of the consequence of this? This so-called protection for the sonsumer has to be extended to what else and stop at where? Being a nanny state in some aspects does not mean that people ought to be protected to the extreme for everything. Your comparing tuition to gambling is totally off balance, to be blunt about it. One has obvious consequence to the society, the other...? I am still scratching my head and you never reply to that question except for two words, nanny state. Why don't you try to answer this question for once? -
I don’t disagree that there may be areas for MOE to improve on, and maybe indeed the KPIs set for schools and teachers are causing too much wayang that has affeceted teaching, but to move the focus from that to regulating the tuition sector, or banning it, or stopping teachers from moonlighting, is just not the right approach in my mind.
There are many other better ways. And I agree with another forummer who said that MOE should look into making kindergarten education a compulsory one. That is levelling up those might otherwise have been disadvantaged. -
Busymom:
Your comparing tuition to gambling is totally off balance, to be blunt about it. One has obvious consequence to the society, the other...? I am still scratching my head and you never reply to that question except for two words, nanny state. Why don't you try to answer this question for once?
:goodpost: -
there’s always a reason behind giving our child tuition. but i personally won’t stress my children with so many tuition classes because it will have negative effects
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Busymom:
And what about this, if the restrictions etc. are to be removed for the casinos, then how about removing capital punishment for serious crimes as well?
Your comparing tuition to gambling is totally off balance, to be blunt about it. One has obvious consequence to the society, the other...? I am still scratching my head and you never reply to that question except for two words, nanny state. Why don't you try to answer this question for once?
But obviously not, right, as it is absurb to try to link the two. -
Busymom:
:goodpost:I don't disagree that there may be areas for MOE to improve on, and maybe indeed the KPIs set for schools and teachers are causing too much wayang that has affeceted teaching, but to move the focus from that to regulating the tuition sector, or banning it, or stopping teachers from moonlighting, is just not the right approach in my mind.
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