Head of the class with technology

WHEN taking in the large touchscreens that replace traditional chalkboards, as well as science labs and 100 to 200-capacity seminar rooms at the Mind Stretcher regional campuses, it gets hard to imagine that the homegrown tuition chain emerged from a basement bomb shelter in Bishan 15 years ago.

"In fact, you would be met with six cubicles of toilets when you first enter, before you can even get to our tuition centre," shared founding principal Kristie Lim.

But Mind Stretcher did not simply explode onto the education scene. Ms Lim described marketing efforts in the early days as having to start from ground zero.

"Back then, finances were tight," she revealed. "My daily morning routine wo…