Singapore. The smartest country in the world with an average intelligence quotient (IQ) of 107. Singapore's average IBDP score is 37.49 which far surpasses the global average 30. Well, how does such a small island nation achieve this? There are many factors affecting IQ and IB scores, but mostly it's just the effort and time spent studying by the student and how logical they are. One of these extra efforts is tuition. Statistics show that 67% of Singaporeans have enrolled their children in tuition at some point in time (ChampionTutor), which is a massive number. In this article, I will be looking at the pros and cons of tuition and whether or not it is worth it.
The first advantage is that students that go to tuition perform better in tests. Statistics show that most students who go to tuition achieve higher scores in tests than students who study by themselves (Science Direct). In a country where competition for opportunities such as universities and jobs are so fierce, having an extra edge in scores can make all the difference. This is the main reason to attend tuition—it simply gives a student leverage.
Secondly, tuition saves time. When a 4 week topic at school can be covered in 2 hours at a tuition centre, it just shows the great advantage of going to tuition. Compared to this, a student may need an entire day to revise for a single topic. This extra time allows tuition-goers to do more extracurricular activities, study for other subjects, or relax.
Now let’s look at the disadvantages. Firstly, tuition fees. Every year, SGD$800M is spent on tuition fees. Payments are a parent’s nightmare, and it's to attend a lesson which was covered or will be covered at school. Parents will essentially be paying to learn the same topic twice, when the students should be able to go over it themselves. The tuition fees are an opportunity cost, and the money could be used for a necessity or something more useful.
Secondly, tuition may cause stress. How do I know whether or not my children is overloaded? Many children do not speak up against their need for tuition, for fear of upsetting their parents. If a child does speak up, parents may not listen as most feel that they know what’s best for their children. A child should not have to stress about completing tuition assignments when they are already burdened with school work.
Lastly and most importantly, tuition makes a person reliant. When a student goes to tuition to revise for every subject, tuition becomes their lifeline: they can't get a good score without it. They won’t be able to revise to achieve the same score without it. This also causes problems after education, since they may be always reliant on someone to teach them how to do their work.
So the verdict. After going over all these facts, I think that tuition is the key to success. Personally, tuition is my life support. I usually go to tuition for language, maths and all sciences. Without it, I will probably do worse than usual. I find it helpful to go over the subject once and to receive an explicit explanation about the topic. Additionally, the practice questions are very good for revision. I believe that a student who goes to tuition will be able to grasp more opportunities.
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