My Longkang

Give tuition teachers a breather says SUPP Youth

I was out on Wednesday night with Xing Min. He was moaning the fact that his children are now without tuition teachers. These next few months are crucial for his children’s future. One is in Form 3 and the other in Form 5.

He explained that the tuition teacher called to explain the situation to him. The tuition teacher even offered to pay back back half a month being the balance for lessons yet to be given. According to the teacher, the school requires most teachers to give free lessons in school after school hours. This means the tuition teacher has no flexibility at all to give tuition.

I was about to ask him why he didn’t teach the kids himself but I held back. Benghui refuses to be taught by me. He would move around, go to the loo, walk to the fridge. There are certain subjects where I do not know the syllabus.

It would be ridiculous to expect Xing Min to teach his children, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Additional Mathematics. In the same way, what does an average parent know about the current syllabus in schools. Even if they did, would they have the time to teach their kids effectively?

Here in Sibu, parents normally leave their primary level kids two hours or less at the tuition teacher’s house daily. What do they do there? Basically, the children are forced by the routine to discipline themselves to do their school work, study and the teacher is always on hand to give a guiding hand. These are very much in demand. Parents pay as little as RM50.00 a month to the tuition teacher.

Some primary school kids go to tuition centres where students have a fixed curriculum. These are however less popular except for those considered more matured children.

The concept of discipline and baby-sitting has to be considered. Benghui’s teacher ensures that he would stay at her house until I come pick him up. She is a substitute mama. He won’t run around on the streets. I need her services until I reach home from work. Needless to say, I consider her a blessing and an angel. I cannot thank her enough.

Secondary school kids need lessons from specialized teachers. ‘Real’ teachers attend courses, upgrade themselves periodically and make much better tuition teachers.

So Xing Min said,
“I really don’t understand the ministry’s directive at all. The tuition industry has been the back-bone of our education system all this while. Shouldn’t there be some body in the government who could foresee all these problems? Suddenly, they remove it from the system without any replacement or alternatives in view. What about the future of our children?”

The public examinations are Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) which is expected in September, Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) in October, and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) in November.