ZCZC
BFF-18
SINGAPORE-EDUCATION-SOCIETY
Education hothouse Singapore seeks to ease the pressure
SINGAPORE, Sept 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Singaporean schoolchildren will take
fewer exams from next year under reforms unveiled Friday aimed at easing
pressure on stressed-out pupils in a country obsessed with high achievement.
The tiny city-state regularly tops global rankings when it comes to taking
tests — but has faced criticism for putting pressure on students from a
young age, and for a focus on rote-learning that curbs creative thinking.
From 2019, students in the first two classes of primary school, aged six to
eight, will no longer take exams, the education ministry said.
Mid-year examinations will also be removed for some other levels of primary
school as well as for those in the first and third years of secondary school.
Outlining the reforms, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said that teachers
were “on a high-speed train… I think it’s time to take a pause.”
“It will send a strong signal that we are at a strong position of rigour,
and can afford to unwind a bit without undermining the performance outcomes,”
he was cited as saying in local media.
In addition, students will no longer be told their academic position in
class and in their school, to allow them to focus on learning and discourage
comparisons with their peers.
The reforms are aimed at moving away from an over-emphasis on academic
results, the ministry said.
Many young pupils in Singapore are sent to expensive private tutors outside
regular school, reducing the time they have to play, and it is not unusual to
see parents studying with their children on the subway.
Many welcomed the move, with Punitha Govindasamy commenting online: “About
time too! Children can now have a more rounded childhood. Hopefully parents
see the value in this.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1550 hrs