Has anyone else came across TxxTutor and their dishonesty (especially J and Ms Kxx)?


They have scammed parents of money previously. Now, it seems like they are profiting off tuition coordinators. The terms of the tuition coordinators’ contracts for service are onerous - everything is tilted in their favour. They find ways to promise us that they have some 8,000 tutors in their database. But in reality, it seems like they have closer to 80 tutors (let alone 8,000!), many of whom are inactive. They have induced many people to pay $2,000 upfront, for use of their tutor database. I have spoken to a few fellow tuition coordinators, none of whom apparently have found students (let alone be paid by TxxTutor for their services). I did a quick ACRA search for Txx Training (because no one really knows their official name) and Txx Training Centre Pte Ltd is apparently a company which is gazetted to be struck off?! They have previously been terminated. Right now there are other entitles on ACRA with similar names e.g. Txx Training Centre etcetc. It seems like, when they get into trouble with the law, they face some legal action, but then set up another company with the same name and UEN number, so they still can continue to run their business. Lousy scammy company.

May the law catch up with them soon.

EDIT: I did further research on the Txx Training companies on ACRA and it seems like they may not be related - they have different directors. Nonetheless it still looks very fishy!

I am a DHS alumni and graduated less than 5 years ago.


I would say that DHS (at least for the A levels) is generally academically rigorous, especially for Chinese-related subjects, Math and Physics. Humanities wise, I think the History and Music departments are strong too. During my time, the teachers constantly arrange for tests and are very happy to have us meet them for consultations (I was practically chasing my teachers in J2! And they didn't mind one bit.) If your child is in DHS, has been doing consistent work and maintaining at least average standard, getting at least 2 or 3 H2 'As' at A levels really shouldn't be a problem. That is enough to qualify them for most courses in the local universities (including NUS Law - but I'm not too sure about NUS Medicine). My point is, lower secondary - especially - may seem 'slack', but the academic rigour is there by the time your child enters JC. However, if your child has a particular interest in, say, the humanities, I personally think that it would be better to join a JC which offers the Humanities Programme. My understanding of the Humanities Programme is that it teaches the students A level knowledge in a very 'independent' way - it is not really *that* focused on exam skills/knowledge (which the students are expected to be able to pick up on their own), but rather, on higher-order humanities skills; through the teachers encouraging students to explore other things e.g. overseas trips and H3 subjects, the students are really stretched and nurtured to develop their critical thinking skills. Many of my friends who were from HP in JC went on to do very well in university, even if they didn't do particularly well for A levels.

Now, onto the subject of school culture and how it affects students' success. I've heard very mixed opinions about this - on one hand, some say that DHS nurtures students very well, to the extent of producing six President's Scholars (and many other PSC/Statutory Board Scholars too!). On the other hand, critics argue that DHS does not encourage students to have drive, causing DHS to always be a notch lower than RI/Hwach/VJC etc. I stand on the middle ground, because I think there is at least a grain of truth in both arguments. I was a DHScholar (it's not a scholarship; it is a special programme that prepares students for scholarships, careers and higher education which students get admitted into by invitation only) back in JC. The teachers were more frank with us there than when addressing the student body as a whole. We were told that scholarship boards favoured RI/Hwach students over DHS students because DHS students seemed less confident and sophisticated, which naturally gave DHS students a disadvantage at interviews. I think the reason is that DHS, being a Chinese school, tends to produce students who are less outspoken/confident of asserting strong opinions in front of others - traits which make people shine at interviews. (This may be seen as 'humility' among Dunmanians sometimes but, for those people who do not know them well, it can come across as a 'lack of confidence'.) Also, some people think that while DHS provides many opportunities, the exposure provided in other top schools are far greater. I think that is true, but there are exceptions - there are people in DHS who know how to make use of opportunities present in the school.

I think the most important thing is that your child(ren) constantly exhibit a hunger to learn, to improve themselves. In other words, they should remain savvy, seek opportunities and always question themselves if there is a better way to do things. They should also not confine themselves to only doing things which they are confident they can do; I think it helps to be more 'daring' in trying the 'big things' - things which may go wrong, but lead to excellent outcomes and help them develop in many ways in the process of it. This is something which several RI/Hwach students seem to seek, and, in many cases, it has served them well. I think there is a more important underlying reason: to build up their confidence. A Vice Principal (not from DHS), whom I highly respect as an educator and a person, stressed that it was about confidence - not just about winning. I used to think it was all about CV boosting, but I have come to realise that the Vice Principal is very wise in looking past paper achievements. I think this is what makes some students from the top schools shine - they seek out 'big things'/opportunities, build up their confidence in the process, do even bigger things, and this process just cumulates into excellent all-round achievements.

There is one last important point I'd like to make: the importance of you and your child jointly doing due diligence when it comes to school selection. It should be a joint task, not a task solely left to one party. Opinions of people who are not party to this decision should be taken into account too, with discretion. I say this because my parents and I failed to do our due diligence. My background was very different from that of most of my classmates - many came from Tao Nan/Kong Hwa etc, which meant that they had a relatively more 'Chinese' base. I, on the other hand, was from a Methodist school, which meant that I had a more Western/Christian outlook on life. I chose DHS purely out of rationality, for several reasons - one of which was that there was full IP. I was also one of the few people who came from families who only spoke English at home (I learnt that the language you speak regularly influences your mind and values). My parents objected (they wanted me to stay in the Methodist school) but I insisted and got my way. It did show up in the intangibles, when I interacted with my peers, even when we spoke English. I did have (and still do have!) my share of good friends from DHS, but I felt I was 'different'. It caused a lot of misery and tears. Since leaving DHS, I have made greater acquaintanceship with the Methodist school I came from - which I now consider my 'roots'. When people interact with me, they often say that they 'can tell' I come from that Methodist school, but up till today, no one has ever said that, at first glance, I seem like I was from DHS. The 12-year-old me was incapable of making particularly prudent decisions; I adopted a very rational, narrow standpoint that all I cared about was school prestige. Up till now, I wish my parents had guided me in the due diligence process - although their parenting style is to leave decisions to me (and not nag too much :evil: ), at least where it concerns my education/career.

There was one particularly unpleasant incident that burned deeply into my memory. I was given an official (albeit relatively minor) CCA leadership position in Year 3 - my official appointment in an official document released by the CCA. At the end of that year, I realised that the leadership position was not entered into my personal CCA record. My parents and I brought that up to the CCA teacher-in-charge, who said that since I was in Year 3, I was, by default, ineligible for official appointments. Dissatisfied with what we thought was a very flimsy reason, we did what the Western schools would tend to do - bring it up to the Principal. He did try to persuade the CCA teacher-in-charge to let me have the position entered into my CCA record, but ultimately recognised that as being within her jurisdiction, and so, he did not overrule her decision not to enter it into my record. He also told my parents that \"in this school we teach the students to participate in activities/leadership because they want to serve the school, and NOT because of official recognition.\" (This was a line repeated by many teachers on various occasions, including the CCA teacher-in-charge.) We felt that this was essentially a broken promise - the act of officially appointing me implicitly meant that there was a promise to recognise the appointment in my CCA record, which was not fulfilled. We therefore felt it was inequitable and fundamentally unfair that the CCA teacher went back on her promise, because: (i) The CCA had made a clear representation to me that they were officially appointing me; (ii) I had relied on their representation (to execute all the duties expected of me by virtue of that leadership role); and (iii) It was to my 'disadvantage' (because it meant expending extra effort - which was an act of value). When we brought the matter up to the teacher/principal, we did it politely, of course.

After that saga at the end of Year 3, politics ensued in the CCA in Year 4. The CCA authorities became hostile to me. Whenever things went wrong, they automatically blamed it on me, without even bothering to find out who was at fault (many times, I was not the one at fault). It got so bad that my immediate junior, who became the 'favoured one' instead, saw me as someone unworthy of even basic respect and became rude to me. E.g. If she spoke to me and I couldn't hear her the first time, she'd sigh loudly, roll her eyes, and raise her voice when repeating. (We had known each other for 2 years prior to this and she was NEVER like that to me.) When there was a major competition (which virtually all Year 3 & 4s were selected for, and some exceptional Year 2s), I was very nearly kicked out of it - and had to politick my way back in. Still, I remained hardworking and dedicated, because I took pride in my work. The last straw came when an official CCA document was circulated awhile later: my immediate junior, the 'favoured one', had replaced me for that particular leadership position! In other words, I was 'fired' without a 'fair trial' (to find out what I had done wrong) or even a warning! This was especially bad because that particular leadership position did not have a tenure for a specific time period - there can be as many people having that leadership position as the CCA authorities decided; once appointed, we held it until we officially left the CCA at the end of Year 4/J2.

I took the 'firing' very hard. I guess it was only natural - seeing how I was only 16, still a little naïve and cared too much about external validation/what others thought about me, especially when it concerned my CCA, which honed a skill of mine that I took so much pride in. It was a big blow to my self-esteem, as I started doubting not only that skill of mine, but also my capabilities in general and how 'good' I was as a person. Fortunately, I rebounded. I became President of a society in JC, and of another in university. I would say that the unpleasant experience that happened when I was in Year 4 (for a relatively minor position) kickstarted the whole process of improving myself, leadership wise: I wanted to prove that I could do it.

In sum, I would still say that DHS is a good school, at least where academics are concerned. However, when considering if the child is a good fit for the school, I think it is important to look at every factor, attend open days and speak to current/ex students of the school. I was a poor fit for DHS. But many of my friends were good fits for DHS. Ultimately, we have found our selves in life - and I think the school plays a huge role in how students do that.

Hi kiasuparents, I am a former Dunman High student who graduated a few years back and I’d just like to share my experiences. To anyone considering applying to Dunman High, I can’t stress this enough: please, please make an informed decision. School prestige/distance from home aren’t the only factors; school culture matters a lot. You want your child to be a good fit for the school – be it Dunman High or somewhere else. I wasn’t. I don’t want anyone else to make the same mistake as I did.


First up, I must clarify that I’m not saying Dunman High is a ‘bad’ school. Many of my friends loved it, and for good reason. The school provides good academic grounding, and excellent character grounding. (I recall one CME lesson when we had to calculate how much our parents spent on us every month/year. The high expenses shocked us and taught us to appreciate the monetary – and non-monetary – sacrifices our parents put in to bring us up.) Many of my friends found a second home there because the environment is very friendly and caring. If you/your child come from a ‘Chinese’/Confucian background, chances are, your child would enjoy his/her time there.

But I didn’t. My six years in Dunman High was the unhappiest period of my life: the Chinese environment was just too much for me. It was something I was not used to, and could never get used to. You see, I was one of the few students who came from a strictly English-speaking family (most people spoke either only Chinese or a mix of Chinese, English & possibly dialect at home). While it is normal for Dunman High students to speak English to one another, it is common for them to speak to one another in Chinese too. Even my parents discouraged me to apply there because they foresaw the culture clash, but I insisted – it was the best school I could go to based on my PSLE score (I was quite achievement-oriented for a child, if I may say so myself) and I thought I could easily handle the culture clash (I have since learnt that 12-year-olds don’t make the wisest decisions). The language difference translated into an actual divergence of values between what my parents taught me/what I grew to hold dear as I matured, and what the school imparted. I tried hard to integrate: I read Chinese books on my own during my spare time and tried to speak Chinese to my friends. I even tried to make the school’s values my own. But that just didn’t work. I felt there was a barrier between the school and me, and my trying to break that barrier to become one of them made me feel I was living a lie. I spent many sleepless nights wondering why it was all so… wrong. Some teachers didn’t like me because I was so Westernised, even when I tried not to show it – I felt they would only accept students who subscribed to the school values. Some nasty classmates even derived legitimacy from the school values to pick on/dislike me because of my Western background (but to be fair, I don’t think the school deliberately encouraged that sort of thing. It was just a natural reaction to strong advocating of Chinese values at the expense of Western ones, I think). It translated into health problems: migraine (the attacks initially made the doctor fear I had retinal detachment), hair loss, low immunity. There were a lucky few students from English-speaking backgrounds who appeared to enjoy their time at Dunman High, but I have been told that I am quite a headstrong person so I think that might have made me adapt less easily. Finally, at the end of J1, I snapped. I decided: no more trying. No more pretending to embrace their values. I learnt to accept myself for who I am.

There were a number of instances when the clash in values hurt me, such as throughout my Project Work experience. I was the only one in my PW group who was actually working; some group members were especially lazy, rude and harsh. When the teacher-in-charge sensed that something was not right, instead of encouraging my groupmates to work harder, he said,” In this school we want to teach you that it is better to get a B in PW and remain friends long after graduation, than to get an A and fall out.” (We got Bs and fell out.) When I expressed concern over my future (I really wanted to do well for my A Levels and have a bright future), I was simply told,” Well, you are in one of the top 5 schools in the country!” I felt that argument was heavily flawed – most of us got into the school through PSLE grades, which was not indicative of how well we’d do later in life. Also, in every prestigious institution, the other end of the spectrum always exists; there would be people not doing very well. But we were encouraged to believe that having the label of a top school would automatically immunize us from failure, and I felt this “too big to fail” belief could potentially cause students to adopt a spirit of complacency. Fortunately, I have since learnt that PW doesn’t matter that much – and, in my case, not at all, because I went to a university in the West which does not look at PW grades.

Also, the school had always told us,” in this school we want to teach you that you partake in activities because you want to serve the school, and not for your own personal benefit.” It went too far sometimes. One example was when I was given an official CCA leadership position (as stated in a document circulated CCAwide) in Sec 3 by the CCA authorities. I won’t disclose the position/CCA but let’s just say that in that CCA we were split up into groups, and I was the leader of that group. At the end of that year, I realised it was not keyed into my CCA record! When I pressed the CCA teacher-in-charge for an answer, he/she told me that because I was in Sec 3, I was ineligible. But because it was an official appointment and I had executed all my duties, we brought it up to the principal. Even he couldn’t do anything about it – the CCA teacher-in-charge was so adamant about not mentioning anything about it on my record. I think many of my Dunman High friends would have let the matter rest but I thought, I did what was expected of me so, surely, I deserved some credit. Soon, CCA politics ensued. When I was in Sec 4, I was treated so badly and often humiliated in front of others (e.g. it was automatically assumed that every single thing which went wrong was my fault, when that was not the case) while my direct junior was often commended; the disparity in treatment made her think she had CCA-sanctioned permission to treat me badly. (For e.g. if she talked to me and I didn’t quite hear her, she’d roll her eyes, sigh, raise her voice and repeat herself. This never happened before my ‘fall from grace’.) I even had to politick my way into key CCA events which had a selection process, when just a year ago, there would be no question that I (and most Sec 3/4s) could get in. One fine day, it was made known that my direct junior was officially appointed the group leader! (There is no limit as to how many group leaders there can be in a group – everything was entirely up to the CCA authorities’ discretion. And once you are group leader, you remain one till you complete your term in the CCA in Sec 4 or J2.) There was no warning, no ‘fair trial’, no probation, no official mechanism to sack me – it happened just like that.

I was crushed. I felt Dunman High taught us to respect authority, our peers (to some extent), public property – but not ourselves: speaking up was generally frowned upon. But the good thing was that the whole saga made me more determined to prove myself. I became the Founder & first President of a new Society in JC. I then left for university in the West (which I enjoyed a lot more) and became President of a university Society. These are much better positions than the original group leader position I had in my secondary school CCA. If that ugly and unfair event had not happened, I might have stuck to that CCA. The skills I would have developed would probably have paled in comparison to the skills and opportunities I enjoyed by exploring other interests, including my Presidency of two Societies. It took me a few years after leaving DHS to heal, and now, I am finally at peace with who I have become.

I admit, I did not enjoy Dunman High. I still look back with sadness. Awful things happened. But through it all, I learnt what I didn’t want, fought for what I wanted and got it in the end. It was a painful process for me and my parents – they said they felt pain when they understood how my difficulties in adapting translated into so much pain for me. So my last sentence is: please, please find a school your child can feel culturally comfortable in. For the sake of your child’s well-being.