Why tuition classes have become a necessity

Are extra tuition classes still relevant to ensure a good education for students?The life of the average Malaysian student has gotten pretty hectic in recent years. Don’t let the allocated schooling hours fool you.

Students are hard at work for more than just six hours a day.

From the demanding homework with strict due dates they’re assigned, to the countless extracurricular activities that are now a must to get involved in, and of course, the late night tuition classes that often take up what’s left of the only free time they have.

It’s a wonder most students are able to keep their sanity.

Such a life has become the norm nowadays and it is simply expected that students work as hard as they can to establish what they hope would be a bright future.

Tuition classes, however, are often a subject of debate. It has without a doubt, become a regular part of the day for most students.

Those who do go, swear by it. While those who don’t think the need for it is exaggerated.

One of the main arguments against students going for tuition classes is that if a student pays enough attention in class and gets all their homework done, there should be no need for extra classes after school.

Logic tells us we should agree.

What is the point of expending hard earned money on extra classes that cover topics already covered throughout the day at school?

In an ideal world, this argument would be right. If the education system and the teaching force that drives it were perfect, only the weakest of students would ever consider tuition.

But alas, that is not the case.

In most public schools, it is not uncommon for teachers to be under qualified or have trouble teaching a certain subject.

There are cases where a teacher struggles to teach a subject that is not in their native language, for example, and so confuse students even more when trying to explain a complex topic in a language they aren’t well-versed in.

There are cases where teachers use inefficient teaching methods, like assigning students to teach each other, in the form of group discussions or presentations in front of their classmates, all under the disguise of being a form of active learning.

Active learning is effective when used in the right way, but when misused, does more harm than good.

The teaching force is not perfect. In fact, it is far from in most schools. And so in reality, a lot of students are forced to attend tuition for fear that they will be left behind in school if they don’t.

The main benefit of tuition, particularly the one-to-one type of classes, is that the tuition teachers are able to tune their teaching style to the way their student learns.

Some of the best students can be slow learners and might need longer and more thorough explanations when learning new topics. They would struggle at school upon realizing that they can’t keep up with the rest of their classmates.

Teachers aren’t going to slow down for just one student and slow learners might be afraid of asking questions for fear of seeming stupid.

The phrase ‘there are no stupid questions’ is often thrown around, but this doesn’t do much to calm down the anxiety of particularly shy or reserved students. Private tuition allows the student to have the teacher’s full attention when trying to comprehend what’s being taught.

The teacher is able to go as slow or as fast as the student wishes and the fear of asking a stupid question is diminished.

Everyone learns differently and unfortunately, even the best of teachers will find it hard to cater to the needs of everyone in the typical 30-students-to-a-class sized classroom.