This is a topic very personal to me as I was once a student, and now I am a tutor. I’ve been on both sides of this tuition industry and I fully understand the experience of a student, the struggles of a parent, and the perspective of a tutor. I see this all the time: a parent, anxious about their child’s grades, decides the only solution is to add another tuition class to the schedule. Before you know it, their child’s evenings and weekends are packed with back-to-back lessons, with no time left for anything else.

In Singapore, we’re all caught in this cycle. We believe that more academic input means better results. But what if all that extra tuition is actually masking a bigger problem? What if it’s doing more harm than good? Read below as I shed light on the side of tuition that not many will tell you.

The Hidden Costs of Over-Scheduling

While tuition can be helpful, an overloaded schedule comes with a price. I’ve seen firsthand how a packed calendar can affect a child.

  • Stress and Anxiety: When a child’s life is just a constant rush from school to tuition to homework, they don’t have time to relax and be a kid. This constant pressure can lead to burnout, anxiety, and a loss of joy in learning.
  • No Time for Play: Play is not a waste of time if done intentionally and productively. It’s how children learn to socialize, solve problems, and think creatively. A child who spends all their time commuting to and sitting in a tuition class will miss out on all these other developments.
  • The “Hole” in Their Learning: Think of your child’s learning like building a wall. If there’s a small hole in their fundamental approach to learning (e.g. they never experience the process of fully understanding a concept)—just adding more bricks on top won’t solve the problem. In fact, it will make the wall weaker. Tuition might temporarily patch the problem, but it doesn’t fix the underlying issue.

Is Tuition the Right Solution?

Regardless of branding or practice, a tuition centre has one core value: To optimise for student’s grades (this translates to showable metrics and sales).

The average centres reviews questions and answers to teach, the better centres create replicable framework to approach certain subjects. These are great, but none of these is useful if that doesn’t tackle the root cause of why you’re even considering tuition for your child.

Before you sign your child up for another class, let’s take a step back. Instead of asking “What tuition do they need?”, let’s ask “Why are they struggling?”

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to find the root cause of the problem:

  • Is it a confidence issue? Has a bad grade or a negative comment made them lose confidence, causing them to disengage from the subject? Or is it performance anxiety?
  • Is it a lack of focus? Is your child easily distracted? I’ve met so many students who have the potential to do well, but they can’t focus long enough to get their work done.
  • Is it a skill issue? Maybe they don’t know how to study effectively. They might be good at listening in class but don’t know how to revise, manage their time, or organize their notes.
  • Is there something else going on? Is your child being bullied, or are they too occupied with CCA? Are they worried about something at home? Emotional and social issues can heavily impact a child’s ability to learn.

A Better Way Forward

Once you figure out the real problem, you can find a solution that actually works.

  • If it’s a learning gap, targeted, one-on-one help from a good tutor can be a game-changer.
  • If it’s a confidence issue, you can help them by focusing on praising their effort, not just their grades. Also, practice makes perfect. Doing a timed practice once versus having done it ten times has a great difference.
  • If it’s a focus or skill issue, you can teach them simple strategies, like breaking down their homework into small chunks or using a timer to stay on task. This is where study strategies come in handy.

Tuition might be a band aid to a gaping wound

I’ve seen many students who get so used to having a tutor present the approach to solving questions on a “silver platter.” They learn to expect immediate answers, or an immediate helping hand. Sure, they could remember the approach and apply it to a different question. However, they lose the ability to sit with a difficult problem, struggle with it, and eventually create their own framework to solve it.

But here’s the thing: in life, and especially in higher levels of education, no one will be there to give you the answer, or even a hint. This process of struggling and finding a solution on your own is where real learning happens. It builds resilience, critical thinking, and a sense of accomplishment.

When tuition replaces this process, it can actually do a disservice to your child’s long-term development.

Ultimately, the goal of education isn’t just to get good grades. It’s to help your child become an independent and confident learner. Tuition can be a great tool, but it’s only truly effective when it addresses a specific need. Sometimes, the best “tuition” is simply giving your child the time and space to learn how to solve their own problems.

Take Action Before you sign your child up for another tuition class, take 10 minutes to sit down and talk to them. Ask them what they find difficult about their schoolwork. The value of tuition should align with the problem you’re trying to solve.