The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore’s chairman Bryan Tan confirmed that the authority met with MOE to discuss advertising self-regulation and considerations behind potential sector-specific guidelines.
Beyond aggressive marketing, Mr Chan also criticised tuition centres that selectively admit students to boost their success rates and claim credit for their academic achievements.
“It’s most unethical and it does a disservice to the whole image of a teacher.”
Some tuition centres go as far as to offer discounts to students or parents who advertise their services. Others enlist top Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) performers to endorse their brands.
“All these are unnecessary, and it just adds to the guilt-tripping of the parents,” he said.
“(They) say: ‘If you consume this product, you will get top PSLE scores.’ Sorry, it’s the other way around. They got the top PSLE scores, and you asked them to endorse your product.”
A code of conduct, which MOE is discussing with the advertising industry, would provide guidelines for tuition centre marketing, said Mr Chan.
When speaking to students about tuition, the minister said he usually asks whether they attend tuition voluntarily or under parental pressure, which is “a very fundamental difference”.
He has no issue with students who want to go for extra classes and learn more, he said.
“But I’m always worried for the students who look very grouchy and down when they go for such lessons, because they seem to be trying to fulfil someone else’s expectations rather than their own aspirations.”
