Is Online Economics Tuition A Good Alternative To Classroom Economics Tuition?

Is Online Economics Tuition A Good Alternative To Classroom Economics Tuition?

Economics tuition is a hot topic in Singapore. Most of the junior college students who take economics have economics tuition on either an individual basis or group basis. This is largely due to the high level of difficulty of the subject. To make matters worse, there are many inexperienced economics teachers in junior colleges. Although students have benefited from economics tuition dramatically in terms of the grade for the subject, particularly the weaker ones, they need to spend time travelling to and from the tuition centre. This has given rise to the discussion about whether online economics tuition is a good alternative to classroom economics tuition. Proponents of online economics tuition have put forward several arguments which include saving of travelling time. However, there are several advantages of classroom economics tuition over online economics tuition.

Saving of Travelling Time

As mentioned earlier, one of the costs of taking classroom economics tuition is the travelling time. The time needed to travel to and from the tuition centre can easily exceed an hour. In some cases, it can take more than two hours and this is particularly true if the student lives far away from the tuition centre. An argument for online economics tuition is saving of travelling time. The lives of students in junior colleges in Singapore are very hectic. Apart from the long hours that they spend in lectures and tutorials, they have to spend many hours in their co-curricular activities. Therefore, the time that they need to spend travelling to and from the tuition centre is something they can ill afford. However, the argument of saving of travelling time, in my opinion, is not a particularly strong one. Singapore is a small country with a land area of only about 720 square kilometres. Therefore, the time needed to travel to and from the tuition centre is generally less than an hour. Furthermore, many students are sent to the tuition centre by their parents in their private cars which reduce the travelling time.

Advantages of Classroom Economics Tuition

Although classroom economics tuition requires time to travel to and from the tuition centre, it does have several advantages over online economics tuition. With classroom economics tuition, the student is able to clarify certain economic concepts with the economics tutor. However, this is harder with online economics tuition as the student will not have face-to-face interaction with the economics tutor, unless the economics tutor is willing to make special arrangement for the student.

The job of an educator is not only to impart knowledge to their students, it is also to instil the right values into them, such as a sense of social responsibility. A sense of social responsibility is an indispensable attribute to the betterment of society. Although this is possible with classroom economics tuition, particularly under a responsible economics tutor, it is virtually impossible with online economics tuition due to lack of face-to-face interaction.

A student is more likely to put effort into a subject if they are interested in the subject. With classroom economics tuition, particularly under a passionate economics tutor, this may happen. A passionate economics tutor may exude not only confidence but also passion. As passion is contagious, this may help cultivate interest into the students. However, with online economics tuition, due to lack of face-to-face interaction, this is virtually impossible.

In conclusion, although it is true that online economics tuition has the advantage of saving of travelling time over classroom economics tuition, the latter does have several advantages over the former and these advantages should not be overlooked.

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