Asia’s tuition trap: why parents can’t stop spending on extra lessons

Grace often hears other Singapore mothers debating how much private tuition their children need. Some rush to enrol their offspring in multiple classes before they turn five, while others try to resist the pressure to add lessons outside school.

She enrolled her two children, now aged four and seven, in Chinese tuition when they were three to give them greater exposure to their ancestral tongue.

“Neither of their parents speaks fluent Mandarin at home … I guess there is some degree of pressure involved too,” said Grace, 38, the founder of a creative agency.

Her dilemma reflects a wider tension across Asia, where parents continue to invest in private tuition to give their children an academic edge, despite growing concerns over the stress placed on young learners and the widening gap between families who can afford extra classes and those who cannot.