Would you have your child play or cram before P1?
It's so hard to persuade parents to drop pre-school tuition
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For someone who professes not to be kiasu, I confess I checked out Berries for my six-year-old son Jason earlier this year after a parent recommended it.
In the world of children about to enter primary school, Berries is a Chinese-language enrichment school that promises to help children get a headstart on learning their mother tongue.
I found a year-long waiting list for the centre's Primary 1 preparatory programme. Too late for Jason, so he won't be going there.
Unlike me, many parents who started planning a lot earlier have signed up their six-year-olds for various academic classes on top of kindergarten, all to prepare for Primary 1.
Background story
Other parents are sending their children for tuition. If I don’t do it too, my child will be disadvantaged in Primary 1.
Primary schools test and band children according to their ability in a subject. Who wants to have their child placed in a poor band?
Parents do not know how much a child is expected to know on starting Primary 1.
Even if there are no exams in Primary 1 and 2, they come in Primary 3, and parents are shocked to discover what the children are expected to know. And then there is the PSLE anyway. So it’s better to start preparing the child early.
