They say their students have largely kept away, preferring to attend virtual classes even though schools began reopening in October.

Ally Chan, academic director of Edusmart Academy, believes the reluctance of parents is due to the pandemic.

“As tuition centres get students from a number of different schools, parents are concerned over who their kids interact with due to fears of catching Covid” she said.

Alice Chng, chief executive officer of Ace Tuition Group, agreed that there is still concern among parents about physical classes, and 85% of her centre’s classes are being conducted virtually.

Although virtual classes are now the norm, Chng noted there had been initial panic about switching to online lessons last year when the lockdowns were first implemented. “Teachers needed to learn how to use online platforms, and everyone was sceptical about the effectiveness of virtual classes.”

Pusat Tuisyen Kasturi was another centre to adopt the online approach, successfully transitioning their students and teachers to virtual teaching and learning methods after initial hiccups.

In a statement, it told FMT that it hopes to begin physical classes in Feb 2022, as all its staff and teachers are fully vaccinated.

“We are planning to start a month earlier than the new school term, so that students can be more prepared to face their daily lessons in school,” it said.

Chan and Chng also hope to restart physical classes in the coming months but see benefits in maintaining a hybrid approach of online and face-to-face classes.

“Edusmart has acquired students from across the country,” Chan said. “We don’t want to stop teaching students in Penang, Johor or Melaka.”

“Through online classes, we gained students from Perak, Sabah and Sarawak. With internet connectivity, students in rural areas that don’t have tuition centres are able to get the best education,” Chng said.