[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 12 October 2007 :-

Tutorial centres mushrooming in Hat Yai

Hat Yai - The economy in the South may be slow, but the tutorial business is thriving in Songkhla's Hat Yai district, with at least 500 million baht in fees being paid annually. Handsome profits and rising demand from students have prompted tutorial centres in Bangkok to open branches in Hat Yai. There are now more than 100 tutorial centres in the downtown area.

More than 30 tutorial centres are on Juti-anusorn road, in the Hat Yai business area.

Popular cramming schools from Bangkok such as Ajarn Ou's Chemistry, Prakitpao Tomthitchong's Applied Physics and the Enconcept E-Academy have attracted many students even though they have to learn from videos.

Among popular tutorial centres run by local tutors are Kwankue, Ajarn Sawat and Hat Yai Tutors.

Not only Hat Yai-based students are taking courses. These tutorial centres also attract students from neighbouring provinces, including Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat in the deep South.

Tutoring schools offer a wide range of topics, with courses in physics, chemistry, maths and English the most popular. There are also special intensive courses for the university entrance examination.

Ms Kanya, a staff member of Wannasorn tutoring centre, an outlet of Ajarn Ou's Chemistry school in Bangkok, said many students applied for courses at the centre during school breaks. Most applicants were local people, or from provinces such as Phatthalung, Satun, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat and the three southernmost provinces.

More than 1,000 students are registered at the centre. Each room can take 70-100 students, she said.

''We provide courses every day. The average cost is about 2,000-3,000 baht. Courses covering the university entrance exam are 4,000 baht each,'' she said, adding that most outlets of Ajarn Ou's Chemistry school use video tape recordings by Ajarn Ou. Only the Sapan Kwai branch in Bangkok offers live tutoring courses.

An official in the educational zone 2 in Songkhla province said 106 private tutoring schools offer courses in the zone. Their standards are inspected at least once a year.

Many parents said allowing their children to take courses during school breaks was better than letting them stay home and spend their time watching TV or playing computer games.

Patcharee Leelapong said she paid 3,000 baht for her son's courses during this summer break as he was preparing to take an entrance examination for Mathayom Suksa 1 level next year. She said the price was worth it.

Another parent said extra tutoring fees for her son were higher than his formal education fees.

Krairop Watcharachutimanond, who runs the Kwankue tutoring centre, said at least 500 million baht was circulating in the tutoring business in Hat Yai.

Outlets from well-known tutorial centres from Bangkok attracted the largest share of students.

His centre offered packages covering five subjects at all education levels.

Each package for primary students cost about 2,800 baht per head and 2,000-4,000 baht per head for those studying at the secondary level.

Thatchapong Ungrattanakorn, a Mathayom Suksa 6 at Hat Yai Witthayalai school, said he liked tutoring courses as private tutors made the subjects easier to understand.

Other students said they turned to tutors for help before university entrance exams to brush up on certain subjects.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork