Once upon a time, mum and dad only worried about whether their child passed exams. Today, many Singaporean parents worry whether their six-year-old is “globally competitive”.
Welcome to modern Singapore!
Children here do not simply attend school. That would be far too relaxing.
They also attend English and Chinese enrichment sessions, coding classes, piano lessons, tennis training, and speech-and-drama classes – often before they have even mastered the skill of tying their shoelaces.
As a result, the tuition industry itself has become one of Singapore’s greatest economic success stories.
Yahoo! has described Singapore as the world’s “Tuition Nation” with more than 70 per cent of students receiving supplementary private tuition.
It is estimated that Singaporean households are spending a staggering S$1.8 billion annually on tuition and enrichment centres.
No wonder, today’s tuition centres are strategically located in popular shopping centres and feature snazzy mood lighting and premium furniture that would look right at home in a high-class boutique.
These bells and whistles come at a cost and I have met many a parent complaining that, while schools are affordable here, tuition fees are mind-boggling.
When the perceived cost of raising a child includes years of tuition, enrichment classes, ballet and what else, bringing up junior can appear financially daunting.
Some young couples are even beginning to wonder whether they can afford to have children in such an environment.
Of course, the investment will hit jackpot if the child grows up to become a celebrity tutor, earning a six-figure salary and enjoying the sort of celebrity status reserved for famous footballers and Korean pop stars.
The frightening thing is that everybody knows the process is expensive and exhausting, yet nobody dares to stop.
There have been instances when parents come to realise that their Boy-boy or Girl-girl will never achieve musical greatness or be the next tennis or golfing sensation.
That’s why the rubbish collection points at some condominiums resemble a graveyard for pianos, and the online ads for second-hand violins and golf clubs for juniors.
But few parents give up on their children’s academic progress, and in many cases, push often becomes shove.
To be fair, these parents mean well. In a competitive society like Singapore, education feels like the safest insurance policy. Every mother and father wants security and opportunity for their children.
But somewhere along the way, school has become the new battleground, and one tuition centre even promised to transform children into “academic warriors”.
This is happening in many parts of Asia, and over in China, authorities have introduced sweeping restrictions on private tutoring in an attempt to reduce academic pressure and educational inequality.
Now, even the Singapore government is concerned, as Education Minister Desmond Lee recently warned against treating education like an “arms race”. He said schools should focus more on character, life skills and emotional development instead of endless grade-chasing.
No way Singapore’s obsession with tuition is likely to disappear overnight. The nation was built on the belief that paper qualifications open doors to success.
But perhaps we, parents, need to remember that sometimes the best thing we can do is to let the child enjoy childhood and develop their own natural talents.
Then, we can all shout “yahoo” without a shred of guilt.
