Tuition centre in West Coast offers Coach bag to parents of longtime students

A tuition centre located at NEWest Mall in West Coast is offering parents free Coach bags - provided their children have attended classes with the centre for four years, Shin Min Daily News reported on Sunday (Nov 17).

The Chinese Language Centre (CLC) outlet in that mall put up a sign outside their centre in October, indicating that they would be giving out these Coach bags.

"In order to thank you for your support, if your same child has been studying in our centre for four years… you will get a brand-name Coach bag," the sign reads.

"Thank you for your support and trust in the past four years."

Speaking with Shin Min, a centre representative surnamed Zhang (transliteration) said that their centre was established in 2020 and the intention was to thank parents for their support.

He declined to share details on the cost of each bag, how many bags they have prepared to give out and how many parents are eligible for the giveaway.

Less is more?

Reactions from parents about the giveaway have been mixed.

Parent Yin Pingping (transliteration), 37, told Shin Min that she received a text message last month informing her of the giveaway.

"I don't send my children to tuition for the bag, but it's a good idea to give back to parents," she said, adding that her child started studying with CLC three months ago.

However, 44-year-old Yang Zhiting (transliteration) who is eligible for the giveaway, didn't think it was a good idea.

She was worried that this approach could lead to a surge in parent sign-ups, placing more pressure on teachers. 

"The main reason why I let my child study here is because I think the centre teaches well and there aren't too many students per class, so the teacher can concentrate on teaching," she said.

"This sounds more like a promotional tactic, so I don't plan to take it." 

Different strokes

Speaking with Shin Min, a different tuition centre's operator, surnamed Zhao (transliteration), said that they have their own methods to attract customers, adding that they weren't worried about CLC's giveaway potentially taking patrons away from them.

"Our centre has been around for quite a while, so we usually rely on the word of mouth of students' parents and we rarely have promotions," he said.

Cognitus Academy founder Daniel Chua told Shin Min that while CLC's actions are innovative, he has no intention on doing the same.

"I feel the main goal of establishing an educational institution is to provide high-quality courses and teaching to students," he said. "We hope to retain our students through innovative teaching and helping them achieve good results."

AsiaOne has reached out to CLC for more information.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com