The Agenda: Why students need more educational support today

Ashoufi Hussen: Best of your way home with Hongbin Jeong. Different generations, different money habits, different priorities. It's the agenda only on Money FM 89.3.

Host: Welcome to the Agenda. I'm Hongbin Jeong. Now, students today have access to more learning resources than ever before. Yet many continue to face challenges that extend beyond academics. This ranges from financial constraints and, um, limited access to enrichment opportunities communities, to a lack of support systems outside the classroom. As the pressures facing young people continue to evolve, so too does the conversation around educational support. One such individual is doing his best to render such support through a free mathematics tuition program run by a group of student volunteers like himself. So are the existing support networks still enough to ensure that students can keep up with their education? And what more can be done to ensure every young person has has the opportunity to succeed? Joining us here in the studio today to share more is Ashoufi Hussen, who is the founder of, uh, Bright Guides program. Ashoufi, welcome to the show.

Ashoufi Hussen: Thank you very much.

Host: Hongbin, thank you so much for joining us. Well, Ashoufi, I understand that Bright Guides is a free math tuition program for primary and secondary school students. What made you decide to tutor these students? And for free as well?

Ashoufi Hussen: I mean, previously I've worked as a private tutor as a part time gig for the past five years. And then there was one particular student who came from a, uh, low income family, couldn't afford to pay the monthly tuition fees. However, this particular student had very high motivation to come to lessons every week. Right? And I saw a lot of potential in this particular student. True enough. So I decided to just offer a free tuition service to this particular family. And this particular student went from D7 in her prelims to a B3 in her A levels. So there was a huge jump in a very short amount of time. And it just got me thinking like, you know, if I weren't there to give a free tuition service, how would have this particular student performed? Right? So that kind of kick started myself to, you know what? I need to start a free tuition program elsewhere as well.

Host: Okay, very, very interesting and very inspiring as well. But based on your observation, while you're handling Bright Guides as well as your previous years as a private tutor, are youths in Singapore receiving adequate educational support beyond school?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think, first and foremost, can't deny that the Singapore education system is one of the best in the world. Right? But sometimes there are students who, you know, just require additional support outside of school. So most of the times they come in the form of tuition. Right? But the truth of the matter is that in tuition in general, it is not the academic capabilities that these students lack. Sometimes they just need a very strong belief system because mathematics, you know, to most of us, we get very anxious when we do them. I, you know, I had a fair share of those as well. Right. So at times it's really about building confidence, building character. So in terms of the opportunities, there are many opportunities out there who, I mean there are also non profit organizations or organizations out there that provide free um, tuition services as well. Right. So uh, I think it is um, adequate, but the more the better.

Host: I mean there are many tuition and you know, enrichment programs available in Singapore. I mean you just go to a shopping mall, you see all these tuition centers. Right? But how might students who have less access, right, like the story that you told us, like the student there, experience their educational journey differently?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think for most of them at least, of course the low income families or the low income students, they can't afford these paid tuition services per month, right. Because to a certain extent they are quite expensive. Right. Ah, so in terms of the education journey is slightly different in terms of uh, opportunities for them to grow as an individual. Especially at Bright Guides program. It is not just about our academic intervention because like I said, I think each and every student, regardless of whether they have a tuition program or not, they have very huge academic potential and capabilities. It's just, you know, our job to make them see that, make them see through our lens that hey, look, you can do it as well. So I think in terms of that ecosystem of trying to build confidence in education in general might be different if they were not to have any tuition programs available for them. So that's where Bright Guides comes in. And you know, we want these less privileged students to have the same opportunities as well, you know, for them to build their confidence and be able to prosper in their education.

Host: Amazing. I mean every student deserves that opportunity, right? Whether or not they're from a well off family or from a uh, family that doesn't really have that much financial support to give them. I believe in Singapore multiple nonprofit organizations do offer educational support as well. We've got Yaya San Mandaki, Chinese, uh, Development Assistance Council, and Singapore Indian Development Association. But is the current support available not enough to meet the growing and increasingly challenging academic needs of our students?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think like the three organizations that you mentioned, uh, of course the biggest form of support the less privileged family can have. In fact, myself, I was a tuition at the Mundaki tuition program for 10 years from primary to secondary four. However, you know, there are, you know, students who, you know, are unable to make it for their Saturday tuition classes. For example, the Mdaki tuition program are on Saturdays, right? So they are unable to make it on Saturdays or sometimes they need a rest on Saturdays. So for BrightGuides program we offer our classes on Sundays. So in a way we try to complement the current organizations or the current system. That's where brightguys comes in. We try to complement wherever we can, we try to provide our support wherever we can. And most importantly for our Bright Guys tuition program, it is kind of special because we make it a fixed objective to ensure that our maximum tutor to student ratio is fixed at 1, 2. So that is a more personalised approach. We try to have at Bright Guys program definitely.

Host: I mean sometimes it is good to have that one on one one with a teacher where a teacher fully focuses on you and your progress. Right. But are there any barriers that prevent students from seeking help?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think usually those who seek help, I mean of course for these students through their parents, through their families, I mean some of the barriers I would say is maybe for some of them they are not aware of the help, they are out there in the community. Sometimes there might also be stigma, you know, if you were to receive a certain amount of help from a certain organization, what does that mean about you? So I think these kind of stigmas in societal stigmas, for example, might kind of lessen that motivation for families to want to apply help. So those might be the barriers that I can see.

Host: Okay, there's also this assumption that, you know, if the tuition center or the tutor is very, very expensive, then you, you know that they are like really prime. Right. And they will make sure that your grades will go up. So is that, you know, something at play here as well? Does the quality of support differ between the ones that you actually pay for and the ones that are free? Is there a gap for that?

Ashoufi Hussen: I mean those tuition centers that are more expensive, they are able to spend more. I think they are able to train tutors so they have the resources to, to ensure that the quality of their program is at a top notch. However, for us, Brightgate's program, even though it's a free tuition program, quality is something that I do not want to compromise. So in fact we have our own curriculum development team, we have our own uh, volunteer coordinators, we have our own working committee. So in such a way, at least for myself, for what is for Bright Guys, I want to still ensure, even though it's a Free tuition program. Our quality has to be top notch as well. So it comes from my years of experience tutoring and also reading through the materials that are made online.

Host: Okay. Okay. Well, uh, speaking of Bright Guides here, what sort of student profiles do you typically receive? What are their backgrounds like?

Ashoufi Hussen: So most of them are receiving financial aid either in school or from the social service office. And there are also many of them that come from a large family. They have a lot of siblings just like myself. So in a way, I guess the student profile are kind of consistent in that sense where they come from low income families. Yeah.

Host: Okay. Well, other than the first story that you shared with us, are there any other success story of a student whose educational journey was transformed after receiving the support they needed at Bright Guides? What made the biggest difference for them?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think for me, the moment that struck me the hardest was, I mean, of course I have students who improve academically, right? But there was this one particular student who went from F9 in his prelims to, uh, D7, so still failed. However, this particular student changed me the most, changed my approach in Bright Guides the most. Because he told me for once, he said that, Mr. M. Sufi, the moment I step my foot in Bright Guides is the first ever time that I really truly cared about, about my education. And I think that mattered more than anything else. You know, I mean, achievement, uh, you know, not linear, right? It takes time, right? But for a student to feel confident, for a student to start to want to do well, to have that motivation to do well, I think that speaks a, you know, volume for me. So hence I just, you know, decided to expand Brightguards as much as I could, you know, to help more students like this, to build their confidence. You know, I mean, it just takes

Host: that one teacher that has faith in you to kind of change your life and change the way you approach your studies. So what's your secret here? How do you give the students that confidence? I'm sure it's not just about teaching them math. Right.

Ashoufi Hussen: Okay. For myself at Raggetts program, I implement a, uh, two stage approach. The first approach is to build rapport with students. That means our tutors try to understand students individually, their hobbies, what are, uh, some issues that they're facing in school, you know, outside of school. So sometimes students with the moment they trust you more, the moment they feel that connection with you, then that's where the second stage comes in, which is effective academic intervention. You know, all of us are volunteer tutors. We are not like NIE trained or professionals. But the fact that we could make such a difference is really the difference was building rapport, making them feel like it's a safe space for them to grow, to share and want to learn. So that has been my approach over the past five years and with Bright Guides I implemented the same.

Host: Amazing. And how do you ensure that students who join Bright Guides are not just supported today, but also are well equipped to succeed independently in the future as well?

Ashoufi Hussen: I think because for us at Bright Guides, our approach wasn't necessarily just about math. Right. And I think, I mean math is a subject on its own. It is really, at least for myself. How I see it is that as important as it is with the other subjects, mathematics allow you to think in a very organised manner. It's a problem solving, uh, skill. Right. So for us with our students, uh, that's what we want them to equip themselves with, the ability to problem solve. Because Bright Guides might not be there to support them throughout their entire life journey, but we are there to support when they fall. But before they fall, they have to learn that, hey, look, I can stand on my own two feet, you know, this is how I problem solve. And for them to really build that confidence in them to push through any adversities that they face in life, you know, so that's the most important thing to us.

Host: So do you not believe in someone who really, really just can't do math?

Ashoufi Hussen: Uh, no, never. It's never for me.

Host: Never the case.

Ashoufi Hussen: Never the case, Never the case. Because there was a particular student that was sitting for an O level. You know, she told me that she doesn't even know the, I mean at that point of time what a triangle was in her prelims. But she, she didn't know what triangle was. O level prelims.

Host: Okay.

Ashoufi Hussen: But she passed her O level Math. Yes.

Host: How did it, how did that happen?

Ashoufi Hussen: Exactly. So that's why I've always believed. Right. No matter how difficult it is, when a student truly wants to learn and you find the blueprint on how to make a student do well in math. Voila. You know, it's like a magic trick. Yeah. So again, not every student is going to pass. No. But when they progress to other parts of their life. You know, sometimes I have even PSLE students who fail their PSLE math, but when they go to secondary school, they are the top in their class, consistently scoring a 1s. Right. Because it is there. There's a confidence sometimes. You know, we all have our off this and I have my fair share of this during Test papers as well. Right. But really, it's really about what they carry forward, what they bring with them in their next phase of life. You know, that makes the difference here. But of course, the students who are able to improve their grades massively, of course, that is a bonus, you know, for me, how I see it as a bonus.

Host: Exactly. And I love how you're always focusing on the students confidence and asking them to believe in themselves. Because everyone progresses differently. You know, some people may be good at this, but later in life, you know, when they were younger, they would fail in their studies, but they become CEOs and like really top leaders in the future. Uh, it's so inspirational that you always put that belief in an individual. You said that, uh, Bright Guides focuses on math. Are there any plans to expand to different subjects as well?

Ashoufi Hussen: I mean, it is an aspiration of mine, right, to be able to expand to the different subjects in school. For example, you know, English, our languages, our sciences. But that is only made possible if we have more volunteers. More volunteers are who want to tackle up different subjects, uh, you know, to have more support, more grants so that we can do it in more locations. Right. So of course, in my expression, how I view it is as such, right? And just to add on, like what you said about students progress in math, right. The truth of the matter is about 90% of my students hate math. They hate math, right. But they come every week, right? So something must be working there, right? So one thing I've learned the most is that sometimes we need to dissect, dice it up for them instead of expecting them to, you know, understand. You know, it's like a baby, you know, trying to eat a full Nasi Lekmak. You don't do that, you know, you, you dice it out. You, you know, you chew them to the point that they can eat it with their pellets, right? So this, I would say, you know, it's, it's been a fantastic journey and I really hope that we are able to even grow to other subjects because their students have been asking me, you know, Mr. Sufi, can you teach this, can you teach that? No. But it's really about bandwidth, right, to be able to have more volunteer tutors.

Host: We have a lot of very, very smart listeners here on Money FM 89.3. So if they want to kind of become a volunteer at Guides, how can they reach out to you?

Ashoufi Hussen: So for the time being, they can reach me out, uh, via, ah, WhatsApp or Telegram, through, um, my phone number, which is 802-55-5730. Yeah, so that's the only time being. Because in fact Tomorrow marks our 11th month, so we are still like a baby trying to grow up our social media presence and etcetera, Which I'm not a subject matter expert at. But hopefully we can get more individuals to join us, not just in terms of math tutoring, but in other forms of assistance as well through education.

Host: Okay, well, you heard it right here. If you want to volunteer and, uh, teach the next generation, reach out to Usufi. What was your number again?

Ashoufi Hussen: 802-55730.

Host: All right, there you have it. And I mean for listeners tuning in right now as well, for maybe students, Gen Alphas that are tuning in, how can they join the Bright Guides program if they're looking for additional help with primary and secondary school mathematics?

Ashoufi Hussen: So it's the same parents can reach out to me by the same number as well. But we will have to do just some minor, uh, screenings especially, um, because our priority is for the less privileged families. Right? Yeah. And we have quite a limited space, so just reach out to the same number and I'll be more than happy to attend to them.

Host: Um, amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining us today.

Ashoufi Hussen: Thank you for having me.

Host: Thank you. That was, uh, Sufi Husin, who is the founder of Bright Guides Program. And that's all on the agenda with me, Hong Bin Jung. On your way home.

Ashoufi Hussen: For more conversations and podcasts, visit More Money FM 893 SG.