Stop filling your children’s schedules with tuition classes: it’s harming them.

By Chloe Lam

I was only four years old when I was first introduced to the culture of extra tuition in Hong Kong. I was lucky. My parents didn’t believe in extra tuition for young children. They thought that it was unnecessary and that kids should be allowed to live their own childhoods, so I got to enjoy my time as a child.

I can’t say the same for my friend. I watched her hastily dart from one afterschool class to another — she never had time to hang out or play with the rest of us. As I grew older, I’ve come to learn that unfortunately, she is not the only one. Too many kids in Hong Kong are being robbed of their childhoods by excessive tuition classes. 

The decision to take tuition classes is usually the choice of the parent, not the child. However, filling a child’s schedule with extra tuition classes means that they have no time left for their own interests and hobbies. Childhood should be a time for children to try new things and discover their passions. Kids should be encouraged to pursue their own interests, but how can they know what their interests are if their only experiences are school and tuition classes on school subjects?

Furthermore, kids need time to be kids. They need time to play and de-stress. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that “play is essential to development”, detailing that “it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.”

Excessive amounts of extra tuition can also end up counterproductive. Kids get tired with so many hours spent doing intense learning and studying. They end up struggling to focus and perform to their best ability in class. It’s arguable that so much extra tuition isn’t even necessary. In Finland, there is no culture of extra tuition and students are still performing similarly to students in Hong Kong in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). 

Shobha Sanker, a Math teacher at RCHK, advises students who can’t take tuition lessons to “make the best use of the classroom and the help of the teacher during school time” in order to perform well academically. 

Hong Kong’s extra tuition culture also causes students to become over-reliant on their tutors and lack independence for self-learning. “Some students rely too much on their tutor and fail to learn and think by themselves,” says Jackie Chan, a local primary school teacher in Hong Kong. 

It is true that extra tuition is more catered to an individual’s needs and can be helpful. Audrey Lau, a RCHK year 11 student who has at least 7.5 hours of extra tuition a week, mentions that “ tutoring classes are useful because [she] can get extra practice, develop additional skills [she] might not find in [her] school curriculum and sometimes [she] can get help on actual homework from school.” However, Audrey admits that it is a bit excessive, adding that she doesn’t “have much time for [herself] and hobbies.”

Extra tuition used to be for supporting students with their weaker subjects so that they don’t fall behind in class. But now, extra tuition is used for getting ahead in school to be the best. This fosters an extremely unhealthy and competitive environment which promotes the mindset that good grades are all that matter. This compromises student’s happiness, sleep and mental health and can actually end up being counterproductive. 

Childhood is a time for growth and discovery — let children enjoy their life. 

Image by Itati Tapia, courtesy of Pexels.