This article is something I sent in to a popular online journal that was not published.

Singapore has often been dubbed a ‘Tuition Nation’.

Math, English, Music, group classes and private lessons, classes even for pre-school; any kind of class you can think of, someone is probably teaching extra tuition classes on it. The sheer number of tuition centres that have popped up on this tiny island is testament to its popularity in society. The real question is why does an education system that is ranked so highly globally, inspire the need for a vast majority of its students to find extra help in their school work.

I’ve been on both sides of the tuition trade and I’ve found out that beneath the façade of over-qualified tutors and glossy pamphlets featuring students with near-perfect scores, my country’s obsession with tuition reveals a disconcerting reality- the paranoia of being left behind in a society whose miraculous development is almost single-handedly measured by results.

As a student, as with most of my peers went for some form of extra tuition. While I only took up extra lessons in subjects I perceived myself to be weak in, many were tutored in all academic subjects regardless of their performance in them. It’s ironic that many of the tutees were in fact excellent students. In fact, some “brand-name” tuition centres have selection tests and only accept students who score well on them. The question that then remains, is why the overemphasis on extra help for students who clearly didn’t need it. The unstated assumption would be the belief that the 6-7 hours a day spent in schools aren’t enough to provide students with sufficient skills and practice to ace the exams. If so, then are our world-class rankings a product of our schools or tuition centres? Or perhaps, parents are worried schools simply don’t give students the extra edge to outperform their peers; that the extra tuition could make the difference between a B+ and an A. Perhaps this points to the changing definition of tuition in Singapore. As one friend put it, "It (tuition) is no longer about those who need help in their work, but getting help to be the first".

I understood the lure of the tuition trade when I started tutoring for extra pocket money after I had finished school. It is certainly a lucrative industry. The pay is high and the working hours short. On the flipside, not everyone could afford it. It then occurred to me that tuition was a fundamental reason that education was increasingly becoming a social divider rather than a leveller in the country. Wealthier students could afford the hefty price tags while those who couldn’t pay wouldn’t be able to gain the extra help, even if they really needed it. And if academic success continues to be the primary yardstick to measure access to opportunities at work, then poorer students must necessarily left behind.

I believe tuition will remain a staple of growing up for many. The idealist in me however hopes that one day tuition will be viewed as an option rather than a necessity by more.

PAST • FUTURE