Singaporean Reforms in the Education Sector

With the increasing competition in the world comes increased stress for students at a very young age. Everyone expects their children to score 90-95% in academics. But is that really possible? Well practically, No. In order to reduce the academic stress on students, the Singaporean schools have come up with a new reform.

On September 28, they declared that the students shall take up fewer exams from now on. Although the state tops the global rankings but the kind of pressure that is being put on the students is beyond comparison. The students are under immense pressure of performing well in the academics. Alongside the rote learning has absolutely curbed the concept of critical or creative thinking. The Education Ministry declared that the first two classes of the primary school i.e. students aged from 6-8 years will no longer be required to appear for exams at all. The mid-year exams shall also be scrapped off for some other levels of the primary schools and for those who are in the first and third years of secondary schools. Alongside, the students will not be informed about their academic positions in the class in order to remove the feeling of superiority and inferiority complex among them. This is being done with the objective of laying least emphasis on the academic performance of students. In order to perform better students often opt for expensive tutors outside schools. This reduces the playing and leisure time of children. Also due to this heavy pressure that children face they become victims of depression, stress, suicidal thoughts etc. very early during childhood. One bad exam brings up thoughts of suicide in their head. Ideally, parents and teachers both need to play a very important role in making children understand that nothing else is as precious as their life. Academics are just part of life not the heart of life. Parents must keep an eye on the behaviour of their children and should counsel them and relieve them of their stress every now and then. Children need to understand that life is a gift of God and they must value it. And most of all, sports and extra-curricular activities are immensely important in order to shape an individual of calibre and substance. Ms. Punitha Govindaswamy commented on these reforms that it is hoped that parents will be able to understand the gravity of the situation and shall allow and offer children a better childhood that they much deserve.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/education-hothouse-singapore-seeks-to-ease-the-pressure/articleshow/65994022.cms