Last Sunday's article, 'Tuition Nation', reported that 97 out of the 100 students polled 'have either private tutors or attend lessons at centres'. This is something the Ministry of Education (MOE) should be concerned about.

It may be up to parents to engage tutors for their children, but with such a high percentage of parents who find tuition a necessity, what is the implication?

Perhaps it's time the MOE took a step back and looked at the direction of our education system. Such a pressure-cooker environment is not going to ease, but will grow worse over the years.

How much more of school activities, homework, compulsory holiday classes and tuition can a normal child handle?

Has our educational standard been raised beyond a normal child's level of understanding, and the syllabus crammed beyond the year's limit, to the extent that even a gifted child or one in a top school needs tuition? Then what more the majority of our average students? They would require even more tuition classes to cope with the syllabus.

Our education system cannot claim to be holistic if so much more time is dedicated to the academic aspect.

How much time is left for our children to work on their physical growth, bond with their families, or simply be free to daydream and get creative?

From the article, it appears that many of the students who had done badly in school passed with flying colours after they attended tuition classes. Does this mean school is not essential after all, and that students just need to attend tuition lessons and, when the time comes, sit for their Primary School Leaving Examination or O-level exams?

The tuition centres appear more successful and effective than the schools in helping students to learn. So what has gone wrong in our education system?

Teach less, learn more? Perhaps the tagline should be changed to 'Less school, more tuition'.

Grace Chua (Mdm)

This article was first published in The Straits Times on June 22, 2008.