The quest for good colleges

How bad is the education system…

“There’s no confidence in the state schooling, hence the reason so many send their children to evening tutoring classes. For the families who can’t afford the extra tuition, the likelihood of their children passing the entrance exams into the top schools, colleges and universities is close to zero. It really is a snobby prestigious concept that better families get their kids into better schools.”  Many see the divide between the rich and poor as a catch-22. For the poor, regardless of their child’s potential and intelligence, it is unlikely their offspring will get the top spots in the universities.

“…education is more important than anything, including childhood.”

In cram schools, the tutors teach us carefully how to get better scores technically and efficiently. Then we can double-check what we studied at school on the day. My parents sent me to a cram school to pass the entrance exams. The reason for attending is simple; to get a better score than before,” he said.  Unfortunately all this hard work comes at a price: “Of course, the studying was very, very stressful. We barely had private time and I couldn’t chill out with friends as I would have liked. Some just dropped out because they could not handle the pressure.”

Sounds like an IIT coaching class?  No, we’re talking about the cram schools that are increasingly prevalent in South Korea, Japan and China – where tuitions are now starting for children at the age of 4.  Full story here.

Meanwhile, the US seems to think that it needs to take a leaf out of the educational system of India and South Korea.  The grass is always greener on the other side!