Much has been written about the tuition industry, but perhaps one aspect has been overlooked: The emotional labour provided by tutors.

Emotional labour refers to labour that is emotionally taxing, requiring the provider to help manage the emotions of others and make them feel comfortable and safe.

It is often invisible and difficult to quantify.

Quite simply, the tuition industry is where a considerable amount of emotional labour takes place. Tutors help students to manage and smooth over a roller coaster of emotions.

They personally take on their students' educational stress, and if things do not go well, feel their pain. They lend a sympathetic ear to the valid concerns and worries of parents, sharing the burden with them.

There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. In a village where generational succession and stability are highly prized by parents, perhaps the after-school emotional labour provided by tutors is of great value after all.

Johann Loh Runming