HONG KONG (AFP) – Cut-throat competition for exam success in Hong Kong’s high-pressure education system has spawned a new breed of teacher — celebrity tutors with near cult-like status and millionaire lifestyles.
With their glamorous photographs showing megawatt grins and flashy attire splashed across billboards and buses, the star teachers claim to transform failing students into A-grade pupils — and earn up to $1.5 million a year.
The former British colony?s tutoring industry is reportedly worth at least HK$400 million ($51 million), with official figures showing as many as half of secondary school seniors seek private tutoring after school.
Hong Kong parents, often desperate to help their children succeed in the city’s intense public-exam system, are more than willing to shell out handsome sums for extracurricular help.
“Hong Kong has a very examination-oriented school culture and tutoring is regarded as a kind of educational investment,” said Kelly Mok, an English tutor who teaches at
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