'Star tutors' can net HK$1m a month
A handful of so-called star tutors in the city earn as much as HK$1 million a month, while secondary teachers' monthly salaries are capped at HK$68,915 and the ceiling of primary teachers is capped at HK$52,815.
Tutor Karson Oten Fan Karno was ordered to pay HK$8.8 million in damages for breaching his contract with King's Glory Education Centre, and it was mentioned earlier in court that he was entitled to a profit share of HK$2.65 million between March 10 and April 24, 2006 - less than two months.
The sum was calculated by dividing the tutorial fees that the school earned for his classes. The share for Mr Fan was increased to 65 per cent for all classes, from 40 per cent for video classes and 47 per cent for live classes in 2005. At one point, he had more than 7,000 students for his classes.
A person familiar with the private tutorial industry said there were only a few tutors earning such a sum. 'I would say there are less than 20 such 'star tutors' in Hong Kong,' he said.
He said private schools usually split the tuition fees with the star tutors. 'For these star tutors, whose bargaining power is so high, they can have 60 per cent of the fees. It is simple mathematics. The fee for a student is HK$400 and it is easy for anyone of them to have 5,000 students. It is easy for them to earn more than HK$1 million a month.'
Mo Pak-hung, associate professor at Baptist University's economics department, said the use of IT enabled these star tutors to earn huge money.
'In the past, you could only have a limited number of students for a class. But now, you can have live broadcasts and you can use the internet to teach an unlimited number of students at the same time.'
Professor Mo added that parents and students were willing to pay the fee to get good exam results.
Lo Mun-ling, Hong Kong Institute of Education's head of the department of curriculum and instruction, said private tutorials were popular because they enhanced students' exam skills.
'Students go to these private tutors to learn examination skills that formal education cannot offer,' she said. 'Teachers in formal schools stress the teaching of knowledge and the nurturing of students' development in various aspects.'
