Lawsuits; multimillion-dollar battles for talent; celebrities emblazoned on billboards all over town. It sounds like Hollywood but this is the bizarre, high-stakes world of Hong Kong’s super-tutors.
Education is big business in the territory, where tiger moms (and dads) employ huge reserves of energy and money to secure top grades for their offspring in the crucial university entrance exams. The best tutors attract banker-sized salaries and the cult status of pop stars.
But now, as years of breakneck growth tempers on the back of a rapidly ageing population, a tussle between two of Hong Kong’s best-known tuition companies for a top teacher has spilled over into the public arena.