It comes as no surprise in an extremely grades-obsessed country like Singapore, the private tuition industry is ever flourishing, so much so it has in recent years become a billion dollar juggernaut of an affair. Kiddo attends tuition classes for two, three, no make that four subjects. Almost everyone in his class hires tutors; ditto for his cousins, cousins' classmates....... you get the drift. Probably only his goldfish is spared. Parents willingly shell out thousands year after year to send their progeny to "branded" centres, while others pay top dollar just to entice seasoned educators to swing by and conduct 1-1 coaching in the comfort of their homes. At the end of the day, one question always lingers above all: was it money well-spent, or simply flushed down the toilet? Over at Reddit Singapore an interesting debate about this takes place, with a significant number of Reddiporeans coming forward to share their thoughts by leveraging on their personal experiences :
=================================
By Library Hantu:
"I'm in the enrichment industry these days and I can comfortably state that "(almost) every tutor is a good tutor" is untrue.
I speak a fair bit with the parents of my students and it's common to hear them complain about the difficulty of finding a tutor. That's why word of mouth is so valuable in this industry, parents can wind up going through literally dozens of tutors to find a suitable candidate for their children.
Some of the complaints I've heard include:
1. Inappropriate behaviour - Tutor called the student "a stupid son of a b***h" in front of the parents. The parents were okay with some swearing, since the son is an older student who occasionally swears, however that really crossed the line. The context wasn't an argument either, the tutor was commenting on a mistake the student had made.
2. Excessive cellphone use during lessons - This is an increasingly common complaint among parents.
3. Scheduling issues - Tutors who don't show up for lessons, consistently reschedule, or are consistently late.
4. Tutors who simply have no clue about what they're doing.
Parents often put up with the third group if they are able to deliver results as finding a good tutor can be incredibly difficult. Seeking replacements can be easy due to the proliferation of agencies and avenues available, then again landing a capable candidate who is suited for the needs of the child is an entirely different ballgame."
======================
By cokelemon:
"Group tuition didn't help but 1-1 tuition did, at least for me. That being said, it boils down to whether one has engaged really effective tutors.
Chinese: Attended group tuition, it didn't really help much. Switched to 1-1 and I eventually scored a distinction for Higher Chinese (HCL) in PSLE. Flunked HCL in lower secondary and was made to drop to CL, fortunately met a good CL tutor whilst studying in upper secondary who genuinely cared and I improved from a mere pass to an A2 for the 'O' Levels.
Math: Attended group tuition in primary school, yet grades didn't really advance. Was a straight E8 student for A Maths in upper secondary, all the way to the preliminary examinations. Also had a good tutor who refused to give up on me, even met up with a group of us at a cafe on a public holiday near the 'O' Levels to assist with our queries. I ended up with a much better B4 grade for the 'O' Levels.
I reckon 1-1 tuition is good as the tutor can personalize the education to target the student's weaknesses, and certainly necessary if the student doesn't have any good teachers in school (like myself back then)."
More at .
=================================
By Library Hantu:
"I'm in the enrichment industry these days and I can comfortably state that "(almost) every tutor is a good tutor" is untrue.
I speak a fair bit with the parents of my students and it's common to hear them complain about the difficulty of finding a tutor. That's why word of mouth is so valuable in this industry, parents can wind up going through literally dozens of tutors to find a suitable candidate for their children.
Some of the complaints I've heard include:
1. Inappropriate behaviour - Tutor called the student "a stupid son of a b***h" in front of the parents. The parents were okay with some swearing, since the son is an older student who occasionally swears, however that really crossed the line. The context wasn't an argument either, the tutor was commenting on a mistake the student had made.
2. Excessive cellphone use during lessons - This is an increasingly common complaint among parents.
3. Scheduling issues - Tutors who don't show up for lessons, consistently reschedule, or are consistently late.
4. Tutors who simply have no clue about what they're doing.
Parents often put up with the third group if they are able to deliver results as finding a good tutor can be incredibly difficult. Seeking replacements can be easy due to the proliferation of agencies and avenues available, then again landing a capable candidate who is suited for the needs of the child is an entirely different ballgame."
======================
By cokelemon:
"Group tuition didn't help but 1-1 tuition did, at least for me. That being said, it boils down to whether one has engaged really effective tutors.
Chinese: Attended group tuition, it didn't really help much. Switched to 1-1 and I eventually scored a distinction for Higher Chinese (HCL) in PSLE. Flunked HCL in lower secondary and was made to drop to CL, fortunately met a good CL tutor whilst studying in upper secondary who genuinely cared and I improved from a mere pass to an A2 for the 'O' Levels.
Math: Attended group tuition in primary school, yet grades didn't really advance. Was a straight E8 student for A Maths in upper secondary, all the way to the preliminary examinations. Also had a good tutor who refused to give up on me, even met up with a group of us at a cafe on a public holiday near the 'O' Levels to assist with our queries. I ended up with a much better B4 grade for the 'O' Levels.
I reckon 1-1 tuition is good as the tutor can personalize the education to target the student's weaknesses, and certainly necessary if the student doesn't have any good teachers in school (like myself back then)."
More at .
Last edited by a moderator:
