Tuition centres (Malay: Pusat Tuisyen) are cram schools. They are private educational institutions which offer tutoring in various subjects and preparation for specific tests and examinations. Cram schools with the title "tuition centre" are predominantly found in Malaysia or Singapore. In other countries they may have different names, such as hagwon, buxiban, or juku. Asians find that tuition classes are necessary for children to keep an edge in the competitive environment. [1]
The introduction and emergence of college and university entrance examinations led to the rise and growth of tuition centres.
According to the University of Malaya: "Private tutoring has become a commonly rooted practice in Malaysia. It is defined as a supplementary instruction outside the formal schooling system where a tutor teaches academic subjects for a fee. The Malaysian government is very particular with the usage of the term “tuition centres”. Licence for tuition centers are only given to institutions that provide tutoring on academic subjects based on the Malaysian curriculum. The tuition centers function by providing extra coaching to the students so that they are prepared for centralized examinations. Parents often view private tutoring as an avenue for enabling their children to excel in examinations". [2]
Private tuition is a billion dollar industry in Singapore with an estimated 1000 tuition centres. [3]
Many school teachers (i.e. tutors) earn supplementary income through tuition centres and agencies by offering tutoring in a range of subjects (predominantly in English, Maths and the Sciences). Some teachers "advertise" their tuition classes and coach those who attend their classes on how to tackle examination questions (i.e. test prep). Their focus is primarily rote learning.
Because of fierce competition in academia for entrance into higher education, the aim of tutoring through tuition centres is not merely a passing result in the corresponding admissions assessments but the highest score possible - resulting in the focus of teaching shifting from transferring a deep and profound understanding in a given subject to drilling for exams. [4]
In contrast to schools where teaching occurs in groups (i.e. classes) and set timetables, tuition centres offer students (i.e. tutees) mostly one-on-one instruction and at times convenient to both, the tutor and the tutee. While teachers at schools are paid through fixed yet capped monthly salaries, their counterparts at tuition centres are compensated through hourly rate payments with (theoretically) no boundaries.
There are teachers who earn up to RM10,000 or S$8,000 by giving private tuition. Notwithstanding, there is a huge, and still growing, trend among local parents who send their kids to tuition. Given the immense academic competition attributed to foreign scholars and the proliferating private-tuition trend, some parents feel that they have little choice but to engage tuition centres or opt for home tuition. [5] [6] [7] [8]
In recent years, online tutoring or online tuition has become increasingly popular as a way for students to receive additional support and instruction in a variety of subjects. Online tutoring can be done through video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom or Skype, and allows students to receive personalized instruction from the comfort of their own homes. This can be beneficial for students who live in remote areas, have scheduling conflicts, or have difficulty attending in-person tutoring sessions.
Online tutoring also allows for flexibility in terms of scheduling and can be a more cost-effective option for families. It also allows for a wider range of teachers to be available to students, as there is no geographical limitation. However, it may lack the in-person interaction and support that can be provided by traditional in-person tutoring.
Overall, online tuition is a convenient and flexible way for students to receive additional support and instruction in a variety of subjects. It allows students to learn at their own pace and schedule, and can be a cost-effective option for families. [9]
A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task.
Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
The educational system in Finland consists of daycare programmes, a one-year "preschool", and an 11-year compulsory basic comprehensive school. Nowadays secondary general academic and vocational education, higher education and adult education are compulsory.
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Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education. Although education is the responsibility of the Federal Government, each state and federal territory has an Education Department to co-ordinate educational matters in its territory. The main legislation governing education is the Education Act 1996.
A cram school is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities. The English name is derived from the slang term cramming, meaning to study hard or to study a large amount of material in a short period of time. The word "crammer" may be used to refer to the school or to an individual teacher who assists a student in cramming.
Gakushū juku are private, fee-paying schools that offer supplementary classes often in preparation for key school and university entrance exams. The term is primarily used to characterize such schools in Japan. Juku typically operate after regular school hours, on weekends, and during school vacations.
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In-home tutoring, also known as tuition in British English, it is a form of tutoring that occurs in the home. Tutoring involves receiving guidance and instruction from a tutor who may serve as a teacher or mentor to the student receiving the tutoring. Most often tutoring relates to an academic subject or test preparation. In contrast to tutoring centers or tutoring provided through after-school programs, the practice usually involves one-on-one attention provided to a pupil in their home. When multiple students are present the practice is also commonly referred to as small group tuition.
Greene's College Oxford is an independent sixth form tutorial college in Oxford, England. The college specialises in providing bespoke individualised tuition in the tutorial method of learning for students of any age, though particularly 16-18-year-olds. Greene's is situated near Pembroke College and Christ Church - two constituent colleges of the University of Oxford.
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Ashfield College is a private post-primary school founded in 1977 and located in Dundrum in Dublin, Ireland. The school offers preparation for the Leaving Certificate examination, both as a two-year leaving certificate senior cycle, but also as a one-year programme. The school also caters for overseas students wishing to study in Ireland for the Irish leaving certificate. Twenty one leaving certificate subjects are taught at the school, and the school uses e-learning facilities, and students can access course material, including recorded lectures online. As well as the popular subjects for the leaving cert some less common leaving cert subjects of Arabic, Agricultural Science and Classical Studies are also available at Ashfield. The school offers a career guidance service to students with advice on academic and career issues, such as advice on completing the Irish CAO college application process or the UK UCAS system.
Singapore embraces an English-based bilingual education system. Students are taught subject-matter curriculum with English as the medium of instruction, while the official mother tongue of each student - Mandarin Chinese for Chinese, Malay for Malays and Tamil for South Indians – is taught as a second language. Additionally, Higher Mother Tongue (HMT) is offered as an additional and optional examinable subject to those with the interest and ability to handle the higher standards demanded by HMT. The content taught to students in HMT is of a higher level of difficulty and is more in-depth so as to help students achieve a higher proficiency in their respective mother tongues. The choice to take up HMT is offered to students in the Primary and Secondary level. Thereafter, in junior colleges, students who took HMT at the secondary level have the choice to opt out of mother tongue classes entirely. Campaigns by the government to encourage the use of official languages instead of home languages have been largely successful, although English seems to be becoming the dominant language in most homes. To date, many campaigns and programmes have been launched to promote the learning and use of mother tongue languages in Singapore. High ability students may take a third language if they choose to do so.