SINGAPORE - The Education Ministry (MOE) is studying ways to discourage tuition centres from undesirable advertising practices that prey on parents’ anxieties, said Minister of State for Education Gan Siow Huang.
Ms Gan was responding to Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang), who asked if the MOE would instruct tuition centres not to advertise their programmes outside school premises. Mr Liang witnessed it happening outside a primary school in his constituency on the first day of school on Jan 2, 2025.
“We think that it unduly induces parents to sign up their children for tuition, and that is not healthy. Our schools certainly do not support such practices,” she said.
Ms Gan was responding in parliament on Feb 5 to several MPs, including Dr Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah (Jalan Besar GRC) and Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang), who had asked about the rise in private tuition spending, and what measures the MOE would take to mitigate its impact on educational equity and social mobility.
To this, Ms Gan said that data from the Household Expenditure Survey 2023, conducted by the Department of Statistics (DOS), showed a gap in tuition spending between households of different income levels.
Consistent with global trends, where wealthier parents tend to use their resources and connections to support their children’s development, Ms Gan said parents in Singapore enrol their children in more enrichment classes or pricier tuition, hoping it will help them do better in their studies.
She said that MOE is not in a position to intervene in such personal decisions.
According to the DOS survey, families in Singapore spent $1.8 billion on private tuition for their children in 2023.
Released in December 2024, the latest figures indicate that the uptick in educational expenses in 2023 compared with those from previous surveys was due to higher spending on private tuition and pre-school education.
The amount spent on tuition, which includes lessons conducted at home or at centres, has risen over the years, from $1.1 billion in 2013, to $1.4 billion in 2018.
On average, households spent $104.80 each month on tuition in 2023, up from $...