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SINGAPORE \u2013 Three in four parents polled believe tuition outside primary school is necessary for their children to do well, according to a new survey released on Nov 9. Families spent a median sum of $600 a month per child on such extra classes.<\/p>\n
Most parents \u2013 72% of them \u2013 said they wanted to put less academic pressure on their children but feared they would lose out in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).<\/p>\n
And 77% said they would ease the pressure if their children were guaranteed a place in secondary school through a system that made the PSLE optional.<\/p>\n
The findings, released by children\u2019s advocacy group EveryChild.SG, showed that most respondents had confidence in Singapore\u2019s education system. But they were concerned about academic competition and tuition costs.<\/p>\n
The survey, conducted by market research firm NielsenIQ mainly between January and February, polled 4,007 Singapore citizens and permanent residents.<\/p>\n
They comprised 2,002 parents aged 25 to 65 whose children are in, or had in the previous five years attended, a local primary school, and 2,005 young adults aged 18 to 30 who had attended local primary schools.<\/p>\n
EveryChild.SG, a non-profit advocacy group founded in 2023 by former civil servant Pooja Bhandari, has called for education reforms to support children\u2019s holistic development.<\/p>\n
Its past reports include a 2025 study on support for children with special educational needs.<\/p>\n
The latest survey was conducted mainly online and administered in English, Chinese and Malay. The sample broadly reflected national demographics by race, gender and housing type, said Bhandari.<\/p>\n
It found that tuition spending varied across income groups.<\/p>\n
Households earning $5,000 a month or less spent a median amount of $300 monthly per primary school child, while families earning $5,000 to $15,000 forked out $600.<\/p>\n
Those earning between $15,000 and $20,000 a month spent $1,000 per primary school child.<\/p>\n
A separate Institute of Policy Studies study<\/span><\/a> released in September found that parents spent a median of $500 a month on tuition.<\/p>\n The study on parents\u2019 attitudes and perceptions of the education system found that more of them today were stressed about their children\u2019s future than in 2016.<\/p>\n Most respondents in EveryChild.SG\u2019s survey thought well of Singapore\u2019s primary schools.<\/p>\n Eight in 10 agreed that Singapore\u2019s primary education system was among the best in comparison with those in other developed countries.<\/p>\n About 85% also felt positively about the school environment, including whether pupils felt emotionally safe and respected by teachers.<\/p>\n Said Bhandari: \u201cSingapore has built an education system that is widely admired for its academic achievements.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge now is to build on these strengths while addressing the pressures and inequalities that have emerged alongside them.\u201d<\/p>\n Assistant Professor Kwan Jin Yao of the United States\u2019 University of Delaware said the findings reflect a familiar tension.<\/p>\n While Singapore\u2019s education system prepares students well for further studies and employment, it also creates stress for families seeking the best opportunities for their children.<\/p>\n Kwan, whose research focuses on youth development, poverty and inequality, was among the academics who reviewed the report.<\/p>\n He said a key research gap is the lack of perspectives from current pupils, which could shed light on the sources of academic stress and how children perceive the PSLE.<\/p>\n The survey found that 80% of respondents believed a \u201cthrough-train\u201d system would make learning more enjoyable, and 79% felt it would reduce examination pressure. The report noted that this suggests that parents are open to structural change.<\/p>\n EveryChild.SG has previously proposed such a system, under which 80% to 90% of pupils would progress directly to an associated secondary school without taking the PSLE, while those seeking places in selective schools could still opt to sit the exam.<\/p>\n About 66% of respondents felt that classes were too large for teachers to give each child sufficient attention, while 73% of parents believed large class sizes contributed to the need for tuition.<\/p>\n Kwan described the PSLE as an \u201cimperfect but fairly useful sorting mechanism\u201d.<\/p>\n Scrapping it may not end academic competition,<\/span><\/a> he said. Pressure could then shift to Primary 1 registration, or subsequent national examinations, which could become even more \u201chigh stakes\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, there is a collective-action problem when parents choose not to opt out if they worry that their children may be disadvantaged,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Three in four parents polled believe tuition outside primary school is necessary for their children to do well, according to a new survey…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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