In Hong Kong’s high-stakes education system, tutorial empires thrive on the fear of failure

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Queen’s College students review their DSE exam results on July 11. The results of the public exam largely determine whether students gain a university place. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:31am, 2 Sep 2018Updated: 7:31am, 2 Sep 2018

I refer to the letter from Norman Wan, “Hong Kong tutorial centres offer short-cuts to good grades, but what about life’s tests?” (August 25).

Local students are seen as having a deep-rooted affinity for rote-learning and cramming for exams, made necessary by an elitist education system with a narrow focus, characterised by both a mandated curriculum and standardised assessment. Achieving individual and academic gains are paramount as stepping stones to a higher socio-economic status.

Unfortunately, the authorities have for decades implicitly fostered and even justified the high-stakes examinations and stratification of the education system, with arguments about meritocracy and excellence. Examinations still play a major role in social stratification through selective entry to the next stage of the educational ladder, a seat in the local undergraduate university system.

That makes many families flock to the private tutoring sector each year, as public schooling is considered inadequate in meeting their needs in such a competitive environment. They need extra “sure-fire” tactics like analysing and forecasting exam and question patterns, studying ready-to-read revision guides, and attending endless mock examinations for extra drilling in order to stand out in the supposedly zero-sum game of local education.

The highly commercialised, organised and mature mini-tutoring empire certainly reflects students’ anxieties, expectations, and hopes for academic success but also the pressure for them to be “successful”. The provision of education is commodified, with services bought and sold in the educational marketplace. Tutorial centre advertisements capitalise on a range of emotions, especially inadequacy and fear, to expand their market.

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