A few decades ago, after-school tutoring was just for children who really needed it — those failing classes and not keeping up with their peers. Summer holidays were spent relaxing at home, helping parents with chores, or doing other non-academic activities.
Summer vacation is now spent studying next academic year's content, so children from elementary school to pre-college can stay ahead of the class. And when schools open in three weeks, after-school hours for most children in big cities will be spent in cram schools or with a private tutor at home.
Simply put, going to school alone isn't enough anymore, and thus the tutoring industry thrives. The 8 billion baht industry — the official figure — has flourished over the past decade, and is expected to grow at least 5% annually. Such popularity — and students' increasing dependence on extra schools — speaks volumes about issues such as educational policy, consumer behaviour and the mentality of parents on growing competitiveness in society.
The Tutors
Pornwadee Thumjinda has a tutoring school in Bangkok, offering mainly maths and English classes, as well as private tutoring sessions for specific tests and subjects.
"It seems like there are some standard classes that young children today seem to take as a compulsory activity, such as Kumon or other maths systems, and English conversation. It's become such a norm that they don't seem like extra-curricular classes anymore," she said.
She noted that there are also many other semi-compulsory classes that city-dwelling children are encouraged to take, such as music, swimming or art.
"Maybe it's because I'm in this industry, but as far as I know, most children take some class or other. It's hard to find a primary school student who doesn't take any after-school or weekend class," she said. However, Pornwadee said that not all children are reluctant to take the classes.
"When it's seen as such a normal thing, like going to school, they don't seem to mind," she said. "I think if parents ask the children before enrolling them in a course, that's fine. There is no need to force the kids to do what they don't want to do, because they will just sit there and learn nothing from the class if they're not into it."
While a lot of parents just hope their kids learn more, some are more serious than others. Pornwadee gave an example of a mother who called her urgently, asking to enrol her son at the school, because his grades had slipped when he started at a new school.
"The child's grades weren't even bad — his GPA was 3.75. Somehow, the mother wasn't happy with it and decided the child needed extra help," she said.
The phenomenon is not limited to Bangkok — it has spread nationwide. Chalakorn Rattanaphan runs an English tutoring school, Easy English with P'Nan, in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. She revealed that even kindergarten children are now taking after-school and summer classes.
"Outside Bangkok, there's a sentiment among parents that their kids should excel academically to compete with Bangkok kids later on in life," she said. "That leads them to rely on tutoring classes because they think the actual schools aren't teaching enough." The most popular courses, according to Chalakorn, are maths, science and English.
Sometimes it's also out of convenience, since parents have to work and don't know where to leave their children. Jinda, a maths teacher at a tutoring school franchise in Bangkok who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there are some occasions when parents just drop their kids off with her and go and run errands for hours.
"There was this one particular family who signed up their three-year-old for a maths class," she said. "Usually, our class is done in an hour, but this child was usually left with us for up to five hours. Honestly, I could tell the boy was reluctant to come, because he knew he would be left behind for a long time. He didn't learn anything during the three-month course. His parents didn't seem to mind, and in the end, I had to tell the parents not to renew the course."
When convenience is such a big issue for modern parents, some schools or teachers cater for that need by offering after-school or weekend classes. That's where it gets tricky, according to Chalakorn.
"I have heard stories from parents about how some teachers seem to favour the kids who take extra classes with them," she said. "Some even reveal the test questions before the exam so that the children studying with them get better grades, and therefore other kids will be tempted to join. Some of the children I teach also say that some students are treated differently just because they take extra classes."
The Parents
Jarinya's* son is now five years old, currently studying at a kindergarten known for intensive academic classes. It's the type of school with a long waiting list, because most of the students from this kindergarten are accepted into prestigious primary schools.
"The school offers after-school classes from Anuban 2 onwards, so the children can prepare for the primary school entrance exams. It takes at least a year of preparation," said the mother.
In addition to the daily after-school class, she has also hired a private tutor to teach her son at home every Saturday, something she said every family in her son's school does.
"You know how hard it is to get into a good school, and you can't be over-prepared for something so important. I think it's a small sacrifice — it's only a year, after all," Jarinya said.
She admitted that her son sometimes whines about it, but is usually fine with the schedule.
"It's not like we don't do anything else," she said. "We go out and have fun as a family, and he gets to play after he's done. Besides, if this is the way things will be when he's in a proper school, we should prepare him for it, so he doesn't have to adjust too drastically when the time comes."
Premruedee*, whose son is seven years old, said that although the headmaster of her son's school does not encourage tutoring at such a young age, most, if not all, of her son's classmates are enrolled in a tutoring school.
"The primary school environment today is really tough, so there's a lot of pressure. Learning the same thing as everyone else at school isn't enough. You don't get picked to represent the school in competitions or receive awards if you're just average," said Premruedee.
She, however, has decided not to send her son down that road. He takes a few hours of English classes a week, and nothing more. She said by Thai middle-class parents' normal standards, that's the bare minimum.
"The chance of being the best is too small anyway. Why stress him out?" she added.
The Paediatrician
Dr Kesinee Ovasith, a paediatrician specialising in child development and behaviour at Samitivej International Children's Hospital, said after-school classes are now considered a part of modern children's lives. However, there are children who like them, and those who don't.
"There seems to be so many must-have classes for children today. Modern parents are often told that if their kids don't take music classes, they won't do as well as other kids. I certainly didn't take any as a child, and I think I turned out pretty OK," she said. "Music is good for children's development, but music classes aren't for everyone."
She said there are three factors to consider before enrolling your child in an extra-curricular course, academic or recreational. Parents need to first ask themselves whether it is convenient, both time-wise and money-wise. Parents and the child should agree with the teaching methods (frequency of classes, whether there is homework, etc). Lastly, the child should feel happy about the class.
"There is no need to force young children to do something they dislike. It is a proven fact that happy children are better learners. There is no right or wrong when it comes to parenting. Let the child's emotions and development be the guide," said Dr Kesinee.
*Name has been changed.
