A forum letter in The Straits Times argued for a solution in response to a recent premium article about why banning tuition in Singapore will only make things worse.

This is the entirety of the forum letter:

School might actually be the problem

The intention of the letter isn't inherently bad -- it was trying to suggest a cure for the tuition crutch problem.

Indeed, it's a problem that has been going strong for many years now, no thanks to academic expectations, a certain inspirational speaker and the general Singaporean kiasuness that propels parents to depend on tuition for that extra academic push they think their kids require.

However, without understanding the realities of current school hours, activities, culture, and expectations, the forum letter's suggestion about extending school hours is an overly-simplistic one in the face of a deep-rooted problem.

Long hours at school already

As highlighted by several responses to the letter, such as this one that pointed out that longer school hours would not enable teachers and students to catch a mental and physical break, much less catch up on homework and other duties:

Not to mention, school hours are already rather long, compared to average adults' work day:

And even if these longer hours were put into place, tuition centers might get around this by introducing night classes:

Although no one likes enrichment or remedial classes, it is one of the ways that allow teachers to help weaker students and is a reason for school hours to be kept the way they are now:

Perhaps then change should begin from the classroom itself and how Singaporeans perceive teachers, for any real change in our dependence on tuition to occur.

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Tuition or no tuition, one thing's for sure: No one likes to stay beyond that last bell.

Top image via Ministry of Education's Facebook