Singaporeans are known for their love of freebies. Utter the word "free" in a crowded place and you would be guaranteed a queue, if not a stampede. Yes, even if the freebie is just a sachet of sweets!
However, there is one freebie that finds no takers, at least going by the experience of one friend, who has been running a tuition center since the early 1990s.
There were few takers for free lessons she offered to her students some 10 years ago. Attendance for the freebie lessons shrank to about one-third.
However, when she changed tactic and charged for the extra lessons, there was full attendance.
With the passage of time, she decided once again to offer some free lessons to her current cohort of students. And surprise, surprise, there were again no takers when one might expect that a different group of children would respond differently.
My friend has an explanation. She thinks that free lessons unlike other freebies are considered inferior to paid lessons ie the teacher won't do her best or just rehash old lessons and wastes the children's time.
So the lesson here seems to be this: if you are in the education business, charge an arm and a leg to ensure fukk enrolment!
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