6 fascinating secrets about tuition in S’pore your tutors do not tell you

Last Updated on 2016-05-27 , 9:30 am

I’m sure most readers are familiar with the memories of attending tuition classes in order to achieve better grades. Most of the time that would mean having your parents engage either a home tutor or sending you to tuition centres for such classes.

I bet most of us have the impression that tutors in Singapore are undergraduates who needed to work part time to earn some pocket money while completing their studies or ex-school teachers who have left the education industry and are looking to make some money on the side, right? Maybe not.

Here are some fascinating facts about the tuition industry in Singapore that might just boggle your mind.

Waiting list as long as 3 years
As tuition classes are becoming more and more common nowadays, many parents would fork out additional sums of money to send their kids to tuition to improve their grades and this trend is so prevalent that waiting lists are common in the more popular tuition centres.

The popularity of some super tutors is so great that parents are having to reserve a spot in tuition classes for up to 3 years in advance.

Imagine you as a Secondary 1 student, having to reserve a spot just to ensure that you can get tuition from these super tutors when you are in Secondary 4.

“International” students
Singapore is now known as a global village and with individuals from various countries coming to our little red dot, it is no surprise that tuition classes comprising of students from many nationalities are a common sight. However, there are even instances of students travelling  to Singapore from JB just to attend tuition classes. Yes, now you get why we say “international”?

High revenue
You may have the impression that tutors are generally students seeking to earn additional income while studying and this is sometimes true. But there are tuition centres out there who are so popular that they have an annual revenue of over $1 million.

Cost is not an issue
The academic results of their children has become such a priority for parents that they are pulling out all stops when it comes to providing tuition for their children.

One super tutor is quoted as saying that many of his students’ parents are business owners, senior civil servants, medical professionals and academics. He also mentioned that some parents find that cost is not an issue when selecting tuition classes and the track record of the tutor is what these parents are concerned about.

They are not miracle workers 
Despite their reputation of providing tuition that has help students to improve their grades tremendously, top tutors have remarked that some parents have the impression that they are miracle workers and are able to turn their kid’s grades from an ‘F’ to ‘A’ overnight. Sounds stressful? Definitely.

Full time career 
You may think that providing tuition is just a part-time job to get additional income but the truth is: teaching tuition has become so profitable that many super tutors have switched over from jobs such as school teachers and research engineers due to their popularity and success.

Billion dollar industry
According to the Straits Times, the tuition industry is estimated to be worth more than a billion dollars annually. And yes, there are tutors (the really good ones) that earn more than a million dollars annually. Say what!