The Lamborghini-driving teacher

10 May 2013

Clip of Lamborghini Driving Teacher - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAEq5vdeufc

UK Secretary for Education Michael Gove recently expressed his admiration for education systems in the Far East. "We've noticed in Hong Kong and Singapore and other East Asian nations that expectations of mathematical knowledge or of scientific knowledge at every stage are more demanding than in this country," Gove said. 

Unreported World travels to Hong Kong to meet the students aiming for success in one of the most competitive exam environments in the world. And they meet one of its surprising beneficiaries. Richard Eng is as far from the conventional image of a teacher as you can imagine. He dresses in Louis Vuitton suits and drives a yellow Lamborghini Murcielago which costs half a million US dollars.

“Tutor King” Richard made his fortune coaching school students through the final year Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). The team films him at Beacon College - whose 40,000 students come from schools all over Hong Kong.  Almost three quarters of final year students in Hong Kong have extra tuition to pass the HKDSE. 

What is most surprising about Richard is that he’s an outspoken critic of Hong Kong’s education system.  A shortage of university places means that of the roughly 80,000 students who sat the HKDSE in 2013 only about 17,000 will get a place. “It’s a system for the elite,” Richard said.  “For every student who gets to university, four others are outside the gate sighing.”

JJ’s dream is to be a PE teacher.  But JJ is competing with students at elite schools and the pressure is getting to him. He’s running a temperature but says he can’t afford to skip class. JJ tells Theroux: “I was talking to my English teacher about exam pressure.  Tears welled up and I started crying.”

However, there is one group of people who are guaranteed success whatever happens:  Richard and the tutor kings are already taking bookings for next year’s classes.

Five embeddable clips e.g. “The Ladder to the Penthouse”: Richard Eng is a Hong Kong success story.  From humble origins, he now has a beautiful penthouse apartment in the best part of town. Does he think it's possible for others in Hong Kong to do what he did?

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/articles/hong-kongs-tiger-tutors-extra-video

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