Tuition in Singapore
Sir, increasingly, we are confronted with incredulous large advertisements, advertorials and media write-ups of Super Tutors who earn a hefty $1 million a year or more.
At the rate they are glorified, celebrity tutors are on their way of reaching stardom, much like their counterparts in Hong Kong where their faces are splashed all over the train station billboards.
The private tuition industry said to be at least $1.1 billion large, is described as the shadow education industry by some. However, often, it is the elephant in the room that is being ignored, at least by the Ministry of Education in public.
There is a rightful place for additional education help outside school hours. This is especially so for students who are academically weaker and at risk of not being able to catch up.
In fact, the self-help groups such as CDAC, Mendaki and SINDA have done good work supporting students who need the extra help.
It is time that MOE review its position of ignoring the tuition industry, especially publicly. Besides having the tuition industry diminish the good work that MOE has put in, the habit of tuition, regardless of one's real needs, will produce students whose learning habits and styles may run counter to what is required in the future economy; the future economy being one which highly favours self-driven learners with high learn-ability quotient, meaning a high degree of willingness and capability of learning new skills quickly.
To this end, I urge the Ministry to adopt the following strategies to counter the further advancement of a "tuition-nation".
One, accelerate the setting up of an e-campus so that students and other MOE staff and stakeholders can help themselves to good quality learning materials − content good enough that the typical students would not require to spend to go for tuition.
Two, further support the not-for-profit organisations such as self-help groups, the CDCs and anchor pre-school operators more strategically. Strengthen their ability to help those who need help. This can come in the form of training tutors, deploying MOE teachers to work in these outfits and investing in additional resources for their charges.
Three, engage families who are willing and able to support their own children; in for instance, regular MOE-organised boot-camps to update them on syllabi, learning outcomes and assessment methodologies.
Four, study ways by which the private tuition industry can be engaged and set up ground rules to ensure quality and affordability.
And lastly, in the longer term, gradually lower the stakes by seriously introducing other forms of assessments, so the focus on academic rat-racing is reduced.
Sir, it is time for MOE to not ignore the tuition phenomenon in our education landscape, lest this elephant in the room grows way out of control.