GROUND ZERO A BUTTOM-UP PERSPECTIVE ON ISSUES
Give us a watchdog for tutors
Heartlanders are wondering if anything can be done to help verify tutors' qualifications
MAUREEN KOH
Tuition. It's a magic word that affects most of us, whether we are grandparents, parents or children.
The spotlight was thrown on tuition providers again after The New Paper reported on Wednesday that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is investigating the founder and managing director of a tuition centre, Raffles EduHub, who claimed to be a locum medical doctor and a child psychologist.
Checks with both the Singapore Medical Council and MOH showed that her name is not on their lists of registered doctors.
Heartlanders whom this correspondent spoke to wanted to know what can be done to prevent such false claims.
They feel that the claim of being a doctor could have atrracted parents to sign up with the tuition centre.
And it makes them worry about the state of the tuition industry today.
Subsequent stories in TNP revealed that almost anyone can set up a tuition agency.
One 21-year-old said that he had 30,000 tutors on his toll, and that he was matching them to clients. He did not check their qualifications.
This comes on the back of another incident last year where a tutor - who proclaimed he'd been in the Gifted Education Programme - had his bluff called.
Housewife Sandie Tan, 48, sends her children, 14 and 11, to two different tuition centres for coaching in three subjects.
She says: "Every time I read such reports, I start to worry about my kids' tutors.
I mean, if a tuition centre can operate for nine years (such as Raffles Eduhub) before someone finds out something is not quite right, how can I be sure (the others) are fine?"
Mr Gan Peck Chin, 41, a sales executive, is just as concerned each time he comes across such reports.
"What frustrates me more is that we are constantly reminded that there is no official authority that we can approach to verify a tutor's or a centre's claim and qualifications," says the father of three young children.
Mr Gan's frustration is shared by 28 out of the 30 parents randomly approached by this heartland aunty.
All of them offer stories of bad experiences with tutors, tuition centres and even tuition agencies at one time or another.
Most times, they merely drop the current ones and engage the services of new ones.
Says the mother of a pair of twins in Mandarin: "It's not like I can go to one particular organisation to complain.
Moreover when a problem comes up, parents are more worried about finding a replacement quickly so that our children won't waste more time."
And complaints against errant tutors or agencies, unlike tuition centres which have to be registered with Ministry of Education (MOE), can be a waste of time, say those polled.
Mr Joel Ho, 38, a shop assistant says: "We have nowhere or no one really from which to seek redress. And by the time we get something going, our children's exams may be round the corner."
A check with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) indicates that the number of complaints made against tuition centres or tutors since 2010 hovered below 10. The numbers refer to both filed and assisted cases, says Case's executive director Seah Seng Choon.
This heartland aunty thinks a few or no complaints don't mean that all is well.
Unlike my older child, who has gone through his primary school years without any tuition, I sent my daughter to a tuition centre for two months last year when she was preparing for her PSLE. By the second month, I did not see an improvement in her grades. She also failed one of her Math test.
That was it.
I pulled her out of the centre at once. There was no time for complaints. Getting help for her as quickly as possible was the only thing on my mind.
Of course, I still lament that there is no form of regulation for an industry that caters to almost one in two Singaporean parents (and their children), according to some surveys.
An Asian Development Bank report (ADB) pegged parents' spending on tuition here at $820 million in 2008.
It also said the amount spent on private supplementary tutoring has been on the rise and has doubled from 10 years ago.
I can only imagine what the spending is now five years since the report, when there is a plethora of tuition centres, agencies and tutors - some of which charge thousands a month for the privilege of attending their classes (yes, a student has to take a test and ace it before they get to attend tuition at the centre).
Now, back to the state of our industry - or rather, the unregulated state of the industry.
There is of course, caveat emptor or "let the buyer beware".
We can urge parents to verify such claims.
As Case's Mr Seah advises: "We like to urge consumers to do their due diligence and check the credentials of the tutors they engage for their children.
"They should verify the tutor's credentials with the Ministry of Education or the institutions which issue the credentials, so that they do not fall into traps of dubious tuition agencies or private tutors."
While I agree that parents have to take responsibility for who they hire, can you imagine the volume of inquiries that would come into the inboxes of the authories should every parent check?
Seems like there is a need for a more holistic solution.
Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating for a heavily regulated Singapore, but surely some form of regulation in this multi-million dollar industry is justificate?
Maybe anyone who wants to be a tutor should have to file her qualifications with a Government agency, say, the Council for Private Education, which has private education institutions within its ambit?
It's not too far stretch to say these tuition centres, agencies are private education institutions too, right?
The agency can also run background checks so that the person teaching my child would have had no previous issues with child molestation, for instance.
This way, tuition agencies (which fall outside the purview of MOE) will be have to ensure that they engage safe, and qualified tutors who can really deliver what they promise.
Steps to screen tutors
1 Ask to see academic certificates and transcripts.
You have every right to them. No qualified tutor will turn down the request.
2 Ask tutors for their National Institute of Education (NIE) transcripts, which will indicate which subjects they have been trained to teach.
Note that tuition agencies (which provide tutor-student matches) do not have to be registered with MOE, unlike tuition centres which operate as schools.
3 Research online. Read reviews in forums or ask your friends on Facebook. Google the tutor or centre and chances are, there will be some form of traces that can offer crucial information or details.
4 Sit in on one session. It gives you the opportunity to gauge a tutor's skills and how your child reacts to him/her. You can also see how professional or friendly the tutor is.
5 Have a chat with the tutor. A personal chat gives you a chance to suss out the tutor. You can ask him/her about work experience, track record or even school background.
The New Paper On Sunday 12 May 2013, Pg 12-13
As much as I would welcome more stringent regulations in the industry, frankly speaking it is also up to the parents to do is to check the qualifications of the tutors they hire. If the tutor refuses to show his credentials, show him the door - there are many other better tutors who will gladly show their transcripts.
I have eight years of tutoring experience under my belt, and only once was I ever asked by the kid's parents to see my academic transcripts. In all other cases, I actually had to offer my transcripts to the parents for them to see in the first session.
And even then not all the parents wanted to see them. I could have been unqualified for all they knew, and they were willing to take my word that I was qualified.
And yes, do sit in on at least the first session. At least parents can get a rough gauge as to how good the tutor is.
I actually welcome the parents to clarify with me on my qualifications and certs, but I guess my notes and teachings pretty speak much for themselves.
At the end of the day, it still boils down to whether the student learn, appreciate and score for the subject.