Tuition, Yay or Nay?

This topic has been greatly debated over the decades.  

Before I tell you my opinion on this, let me first explain...

What Is Tuition?

Google defines it as "teaching or instruction, especially of individual pupils or small groups." 

Tuition is basically like extra class but not at school. It's meant for students to improve in subjects they're weak in but nowadays even those doing exceptionally well go for multiple tuition classses. In my country, Malaysia, almost all students from national(government) schools go for tuition while in private & international schools almost none do. Generally, there are four classes a month with each class lasting about 2 hours. On average, tuition costs about RM60(16.63 USD) a month.

Why Is It So Popular?

The main reason is probably because the belief is that tuition = good exam results = schoarships especially in Malaysia where scholarships are literally given by the number of As you get.  I believe it is also because we Asians tend be fiercely competitive(the 3 Ks; kiasu, kiasi, kiabo) and result oriented especially when it comes to academics. Asian parents place a lot of importance on excelling academically which is not a bad thing considering the fact that academic excellence is needed for basically everything but sometimes they may go overboard. It's the thought that counts, right? 

My Mother and Tuition

In primary school, my mother only necessitated taking English tuition because she asserted that the English standard in Malaysia is too poor. That was fine with me though because that class was pretty damn fun.(Cause she's a 70 year old lady who loves telling dirty jokes) My mother did however warn me that if I were to fall out of the top 10 in my class, I would have to attend more tuition. Naturally, that scared the living daylights outta little 7 year old me. So, I made sure to pay attention in class and for most of my primary school years I was roughly 9th in class.(Whew.) For the major primary school exam in Malaysia, UPSR, I scored straight A's.

In secondary school, I struggled to keep up with certain subjects but I managed to pull through and scored straight A's once again for PMR, one of the major secondary school exams. In Form 4, I started attending more tuition after failing my Modern Maths, Additional Maths and Chemistry in Form 4(16 y.o.). I am now in Form 5(17 y.o.) and I am attending English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Add. Maths tuition.

Pros and Cons of Tuition

Tuition can be extremely helpful especially if you're failing the subject. It's also a good way for parents to ensure that their children are doing constructive things with their time. Plus, getting good grades are one of the quintessential scholarship requirements and it opens up a world of possibilities for university. Also, if the child manages to get a scholarship to university then the money spent on tuition can be said to be a good investment.

On the the flip side, it is expensive and for stronger students, unneeded. It is also spoon feeding the students making the some students very dependent on tuition and incapable of studying on their own. Besides that, it takes up time that could be used for the student to cultivate a wide array of practical/extracurricular skills and discover their interests. It can also cause great amounts of stress for some students which may lead to depression and make them suicidal.

My Opinion: Yay or Nay?

In my opinion, all things should be done in moderation. I know quite a number of people who are attending tuition like 7 subjects and even two tuition centres for certain subjects. Conversely, I also know people who are failing numerous subjects but refuse to go for tuition. I think that if... 

• You are getting A's or B's for that subject then you don't really need to go for tuition for that subject and you should just need little more fine tuning.
• You are getting C's, D's E's or F's, on the other hand, I strongly suggest you enroll yourself in a good tuition class.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments :)