9/22/2013

Raising the quality of private tutors


 
Someone saw this coming. Since private tuition is so prevalent and necessary, let’s make sure that the standards are high and private tutors are qualified. For a start, all private tutors must be registered with a professional body and have their qualifications and experience certified. So we need a professional body or something like that to certify them.

Private tuition must be conducted in a proper and conducive environment, not below the staircase or in the void deck. Not in the homes also, to give an image of professionalism and respectability.

There must be some regulations or self regulating bodies to maintain a certain standard for the tuition giver. Not everyone can give tuition without the approval of these bodies or organisations. They may have to sit for a test to be issued with a certificate to tutor students.

Tutors are not allowed to anyhow paste little slips of papers on letter boxes or walls for their services like unauthorised agents. Not good for public image and professionalism.

See, we have a new industry in the making. And tutors, please declare your income and pay your taxes, and rentals and fees to your professional bodies, and the media for advertisements. Tutors will henceforth be known as professional tutors and can print name cards with PT added to their names.

This is a multi million dollar industry and deserves some recognition as many tutors are paid much better than school teachers, a choice profession that is highly regarded for the best in the industry. How about a specialist Tuition Centre like Mount Elizabeth equivalent for medical services?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Acually hor, if Sinkies want to teach and also want to make lots of money and with stable income and benefits, it is better to be a teacher in a school rather than as tutor lah.

Or else ah, everybody will want to be tutor already, tio bo? And PAP would also surely want to regulate it, no need even for RB or whoever to suggest.

Where regulation and standards are concerned, and also if got lots of money to be made, I tell you, PAP will no give chance one, OK?



Anonymous said...

Redbean,

Just to tell you "..migratory birds of Sungei Buloh.." picture are much better than the last one.

JC

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

The last one very difficult to shoot. Dunno where the fish would pop up and they came up only for a second or two. Many trials and errors and luck to get one good shot.

These birds are much easier to shoot as long as they are here, can be seen and focussed on. Can see what one is shooting at.

Cheers.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Free unregulated market is the best. Sometimes a tutoring session at the void deck might be all that people can afford. Good for Poly and NUS students tutoring primary to HSC students. Why not? Low overhead, low fees.

You regulate, you raise the cost, thus those with little money are thrown out. Plus those Poly and NUS students who can now make some kopi money easily are out of job.

Anonymous said...

The whole country looks like a public listed football club, with the worst suckers being fans who still believe they are seeing "the beautiful game", while the biggest beneficiaries are..

Anonymous said...

The most expensive and incompetent tutor/ mentor in Singapore is 90 years old.

Anonymous said...

Another Bureaucrat.
Everything must set standard and regulate.
Did everyone with a cert produces any good food compare to those that learn on the job?
Did the certified people give problem less services in our transport system?
Did our World Class Academics produced any World Class Calibres?
Are our leaders also World Class being the Most Talented Elites money also cannot buy.
Luckily there is a wise man in mati lah Singapura.

Anonymous said...

Redbean
You have just given our PAP gahmen another money making idea.
Now all tuition centers will require certification by a government agency.
And will have to pay money to get their certificate renewed every year.

Just make sure it's really a government agency hor.
And not another $2 company that is linked to a political party.

Anonymous said...

RB. Please change the title to "Raising the Quality of School Teachers". I do not agree students should go for tuition if the schools do their part. Please ask schools to cut down on CCA and concentrate on pure teaching.

Anonymous said...

Cannot lah. Our students much be good in academic, good in sports, good in arts, civic minded, involved in the community, caring, must be trained to be an all rounder, have leadership quality, be the best in everything and good for nothing or good in nothing. There is just not enough time to train and educate them when there are so many things to learn.

Anonymous said...

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/09/22/former-teacher-reveals-schools-penalise-teachers-for-focusing-solely-on-teaching/

Anonymous said...

Make money, not teach.

Make money, not join the opposition.

Anonymous said...

Tio lah. Sinkies problems can be solved by money.

That's why smart Sinkies make money. Lots of it.

Got money = no problem, tio bo?

patriot said...

Hope RB will take this suggestion. RB himself does believe students can do well without tuition. Others here do have similar views. As our students are overloaded by expectations from parents, school and society leaders, they are in many ways unfairly pressured and stressed. Students have their own ideas of living their own live and have their own ambitions.
Unfortunately, all the adults and leaders want to mould them by imbuing and indoctrinating their(adults) wishes on them(students). Only the very intelligent students are capable of personal decisions. Few have this quality of wanting freedom; dare to tell others not to interfere with personal liberty.
Do allow the students to decide if they want to take music, dancing, acting and other non school activities and of course tuition.

Rest assured the students themselves will want to be the BEST THEY CAN BE.

patriot

Anonymous said...

A lot of undergraduates arguably including those in NIE moonlight as part time tutors for their pocket money expenses, transportation fares, "hold-hands expenses" ( paktor ), even yearly school fees. That supposedly also include a large proportion of poly students. In turn generally they provide lower tuition fees than established full time tutors. In a way, they provide choice and affordability. Like restaurants, food courts and hawker centres pricing. Not many parents in SinkieLand like RB and some rich oldies here can frequently eat in restaurants. Likewise, not many parents can hire star tutors for their kids who need tuition. In GE 2011, a percentage of votes are arguably lost because of regulation in some other industry. Is RB suggesting another potential big factor for some party to "fall into the trap" and lose more votes next GE? How clever! Going by the numbers, any regulation in this industry affects about 900,000 parents voters. If somebody proceed to regulate within the next three years before the next GE, then they must be "damn gong" and probably deserve to lose. I dun think regulation in this industry would be coming any time soon, not before GE 2015/ 2016. The potential political implication is too wide for it to go ahead in the short term. If it does proceed, people in the opposition would be rubbing their hands with glee. NO?

Anonymous said...

900k cannot be too many when the whole population, now and the future, will all have to pay for this thing called Medishield Life. Compulsory whoa! Don't know how much money would be sucked into this scheme. What is tuition compares to this?

Anonymous said...

Hehe...
If this theory works, then Redbean must be a 'Sima Qian' or 'Zhuge Liang'.

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 6.10 pm

Ha ha ha

You have hit the nail right on its head.

That is exactly the point.

A good strategist does not let potential fire in his front courtyard and at the same time have another fire at his back yard.

Each "fire" alone potentially can "burn" away 10-15% electoral votes. A good strategist does not risk starting "two fires" at the same time or near each other. No one can predict how a " big fire" might "act" once it is started.

NO?

b said...

The best solution is to make the school teachers give free tuition to kids who need more help so that they cannot skive on their jobs. These days, the school teachers barely teach, always ask the kids to go for private tuition. Some even go all the way to recomment (aka con) the kids to some tuition centers as they are paid some commission for referee.

Anonymous said...

I remember someone saying, teach less, learn more. Now the truth is out. Tuition is the reason for teaching less and the kids learning more.

Anonymous said...

How about raising the quality of PAP Ministers?
How can we make this happen?
Vote Opposition lar!
Put some spurs on their sides.
Make them work harder for Singaporeans.

Anonymous said...

Vote me lar!

Anonymous said...

Sama sama lah. I also not ready to be PM and also has no ambition to be PM.

Anonymous said...

Tuition is force as standards and methods use differs from yesteryears, most of the time there is no choice, teachers are overwhelm by the number of students per class that concentration cannot be focus on one.

The issue is the planning was and is insufficient under the umbrella of "inculsion", allied educators are by far the worst hit as the numbers of special needs are rising on top of their low pay and huge workload, many have resign or have left for greener pasture, leaving a bigger gap and more stress to the ones that Stayed.

Shifting the blame to parents and making that an excuse to set tougher exams paper to do outs the A and A* do not make any jutification on their echo that tuition is also not needed.

Papers like Science has fix words to each answer, if those words are not quoted, marks are removed or no marks given, such teaching produces robots and give less to concept and understanding, in math, every question is a new problem, normal children find it difficult to understand once primary 3 or 4 is reach. Special needs fall off the track when they reach these levels.

Do ministers understand when they say or used words like; fun in learning, enjoy learning or being creative, surely they have forgotten that in order for this children to understand, explanation and excercise have to be drilled into them on top of the tons of practice they have to do daily.

There is only one choices if children falls off the levels, NITEC, and till now the only alternative easy on the cost

Tuition is not necessary?, Ministers and MOE should not just talk the walk, they should and must also walk the talk.

Kaki

Anonymous said...

If tuition not necessary, then why did LKY say he will mentor (i.e.) the new Ministers?
Why was LKY called Mentor Minister?
Mentoring means tuition, right?

You see just how hopeless the new Ministers are?
So much tuition and mentoring.
Still got so many problems like floods.

Hong Kong facing the worst storm in 34 years now.
How much do you think the Hong Kong Minister in charge of the flooding there is being paid?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-22/hong-kong-braces-worst-storm-34-years-typhoon-usagi-approaches-astronomical-storm-su

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I remember one of the reasons they need to set extra tough question is to separate the diamonds from the chaffs. The effect now is that every parent wants to turn his/her child into a diamond at the tender age of 12.

Educationists know that people develop at different pace and rate and many don't show their great talents until much older. Trying to find raw diamonds at 12 and discarding many that could not be found at that age is sinful and stupidity.