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1 in 2 who engage tuition teachers spend more than $500 per month: survey

In a further sign that Singapore is well and truly a “Tuition Nation”, a survey has revealed that 1 in 2 Singaporeans with kids enrolled in tuition spends an average of 500 dollars a month per child.

Of that group, 1 per cent can spend up to a whopping S$3,000 a month per kid, according to the survey by market research consultancy Blackbox Research on the state of private tuition in Singapore.

16 percent of families spend between S$1,000 and S$2,000, while 49 per cent spend less than S$500 per month per child.

Other interesting results from the survey include:

  • 1 in 3 Singaporeans (23%) think kids should start tuition in pre-school

  • 46 per cent of Singaporeans feel that tuition is necessary to stay competitive with their peers

  • Two-thirds or 67% of Singaporeans with kids currently have or have previously enrolled their children in tuition

The online survey was conducted on 700 Singaporeans above the ages of 18. It also revealed that spending on tuition doubled in 10 years to a whopping S$820 million in 2008.

The number of tuition centres has also increased five times over the past decade and there are now more than 500 centres in Singapore.

Earlier this month, education and career expert Daniel Wong said the real reason behind Singapore’s obsession with tuition is actually the fear by parents that their kids will get left behind, and subsequently how that reflects on the parent’s own performance in raising his or her child.

But Singapore is not alone in spending big bucks on extra classes. 

Japan spends over $12 billion on extra teaching in 2010, while Hong Kong is known to suffer from a “celebrity tutor” craze where 85 per cent of senior secondary students go for extra tuition classes.