Tuition helps in student development

I REFER to the letter “The great tuition menace” (The Star, Dec 21).

What a biased article to condemn tuition! Why do we have such a short memory? Our Pisa ranking is at almost rock bottom.

Had the tuition centres known the format and pattern of the test questions, I believe our country would have emer-ged among the top five, just like Shang-hai, Singapore, Taiwan or South Korea.

Admittedly, many of the parents of these countries rely on tuition to im-prove and reinforce the children’s learning in school.

Needless to say, tuition centres have contributed immensely to the students’ educational development, especially in urban areas.

If they had been non-performing, many would have shutdown their business (gulung tikar, as my Malay friends would say).

The fact that tuition centres have been mushrooming since the 80’s is because of the simple economic theory of the pull and push factors.

I will only dwell on pull factors of tuition centres.

They are conveniently located for easy access to parents and students, many of them are a stone’s throw from surrounding schools, in town centres or residential areas.

The conducive environment of air-conditioned rooms, small class size and comfortable chairs and tables naturally attract students to study to their full potential.

Realistically, students can study and proceed at their own pace; ask questions and do not have to feel embarrassed.

The most indisputable pull factor is the teachers’ extra knowledge, invaluable experience and positive attitude to teach effectively and effciently and the ability to solve all the students’ problems, make them a class and level above the school teachers.

Undeniably, tuition teachers are more capable and highly skilled to help students to achieve success in school tests and exams.

In fact that is their core business, to help schools to improve their public exam results.

Nowadays, with all the distractions of computer and handphone games and the craze of Facebook and Twitter, parents would rather send their children to tuition centres to spend their time and do something constructive and productive.

In short, tuition centres offer effective methods of teaching and learning with their pool of dedicated, committed and passionate teachers. They are able to bring out the excellence in the students.

Apart from this, if the student opts for personal or individual tuition, he or she would enjoy enormous benefits of having the whole teacher to himself or herself.

Let’s face it - the pressure of learning in school is so high and competitive, the students need tuition to realize their potential to the fullest.

 

THOMAS KOK

Ipoh