This post is a summary of two reports published at the same place: BBC.co.uk, both written by Yojana Sharma. The first, with the title above and published on October 11, 2011. The second published on November 27, 2012 with the title: " Meet the 'tutor kings and queens'."
China's education performance seems to be as spetacular as the country's breakneck economic expansion, outperforming many more advanced countries. But what is behind this success?
Shanghai, taking part for the first time in PISA tests from OECD, came top in all three subjects. Cheng Ming, professor at Hong Kong University puts the results down to "a devotion to education not shared by some other cultures." More than 80% of Shanghai secondary students attend after-school tutoring. Such diligence also reflects the ferociously competitive university entrance examinations, "not all Chinese parents are 'tiger mothers', but they are devoted to their children's education," he said.
In Hong Kong, education accounts for more than one-fifth of entire government spending. Shanghai re-equipping classrooms, upgrading schools and revamping the curriculum in the last decade. It got rid of the " key schools" system which concentrated resources only on top students and elite schools. Instead staff were trained in more interactive teaching methods and computers were brought in. The city's schools are now a showcase for the country. About 80% of school leavers go to university compared to an overall average of 24% in China. The OECD's Mr. Schleicher believes teacher training has played a part in Shanghai success, with higher-performing teachers mentoring teachers from lower-performing schools.
They strike poses in posters in shopping malls and on the side of buses. But they are not movie stars or models, they are Hong Kong's top tutors offering pupils a chance to improve grades. Exam pressure has turned them into celebrities. And they have earnings to match, some have become millionaires and appear regularly on television. The celebrity tutor phenomenon is a result of the huge growth in out-of-school tutoring in Asia. It is fuelled by highly pressured systems and parents wanting their children to secure places at top universities. In societies where success is equated with good exam results, parental anxiety converts into a stream of revenue for tutoring establishments. Richer families have always paid for individual tutoring, but the star tutors offer exam tips and revision notes to the less well-off, studying in groups.
It is not just Hong Kong. In South Korea, 90% of primary school children attend such classes. In India, Thailand, and South Korea tutoring schools use star tutors to attract more students.
Tutoring - acting as a tutor to
Breakneck - fast.
Diligence - carrying out a task with care and consciousness.
Revamp - alter something as to improve.
