2 days ago
School holiday enrichment classes see surge in demand, including for preschoolers
SINGAPORE: Enrolments for holiday enrichment classes have more than doubled during the June school break, with education providers attributing the surge to tighter travel budgets and parents seeking meaningful ways to engage their young ones.
This rising demand is not limited to older children, with preschoolers now diving into programmes ranging from robotics to public speaking.
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS, TRAVEL FATIGUE
The School of Robotics, which has two outlets in Ang Mo Kio and Bukit Timah, has seen its enrolment numbers rise more than threefold this June school holidays compared to the same period last year.
More than half of the slots for some popular courses at its Bukit Timah branch were already snapped up by the second week of May.
The school cited a mix of factors for the demand, including travel fatigue, budget limitations and parents' desire to provide a different type of learning experience for their children.
'Most parents usually will not travel more than two weeks due to (their) leave and budget constraints,' said School of Robotics CEO Stephen Zhuo.
'So the remaining time, they probably want to find a bit more meaningful engagements,' he added.
'The technology courses, such as coding and robotics, could be their top choices because now it's about a technology-driven world.'
Some students at the enrichment centre told CNA that they were happy to spend their holidays attending these classes, adding that the activities are aligned with their interests.
'Robotics is a hobby. In fact, I requested to come pursue robotics,' said primary school student Woo Yu Heng.
'It's a little bit stressful because my schedule is already quite packed, as I have multiple tuition classes and I also have extra classes that I have to go to.'
HAVING FUN WHILE LEARNING
The trend was also observed among younger children.
Kids Peak Learning Hub, an education provider that offers holiday programmes in preschools, has seen a similar jump in enrolment.
Nearly 500 students between the ages of three and six have signed up for its robotics and public speaking classes this June - twice as many as in June last year.
Kids Peak Learning Hub director Leong Pik Yin said her priority is to ensure the children have fun while learning.
'The schools themselves are more keen to offer holiday programmes, because they see it as a value-added service for parents who want to expose their children to different experiences and activities,' said Ms Leong, adding that her centre's programmes are offered in preschools during school hours.
'So for the parents, they don't have to ferry their children to and from different centres over the weekends.'
"NATURAL PARENTAL ANXIETY"
Dr Jason Tan, associate professor for policy, curriculum and leadership at the National Institute of Education, said these enrichment programmes are ubiquitous.
'All of these enrichment programmes hold out the promise of being fun and enjoyable, and the provision of valuable learning experiences which cover not only thinking skills but also creativity and social and emotional skills such as teamwork,' he added.
'Of course, if we look at the wider backdrop, the Ministry of Education for the past few decades has been pushing very strongly this idea of holistic development rather than an obsession with academic grades.'
Dr Tan stressed that it is becoming 'increasingly clear' that education is not just about the core academic subjects covered in school.
'There's a whole variety of learning experiences out there,' he added.
'That's what the term enrichment suggests - it talks about adding something else to mainstream schooling experiences in order to enhance the quality of children's educational experiences.'
On whether enrichment classes are necessary at such a young age, Dr Tan noted that for some, there is 'natural parental anxiety to make sure that their children stay competitive and not fall too far behind, especially in the case of preschoolers'.
But parents have to be careful that these activities do not become additional pressures, he said.
'Enrichment is meant to increase the quality of your educational experiences and it's not meant to add extra stress, which will detract of course from your educational experience,' Dr Tan added.
