Term 3 Week 3 Assignment

Singapore’s education system has been traditionally viewed as rigid, competitive and demanding, which focuses heavily on meritocracy where the crème de la crème of the student population would be sieved out each year. Although the government’s investment in education has paid off and our education system is now ranked one of the best in the world, Singaporeans ourselves do not think so. This can be seen from a letter to the Education Minister Mr. Heng Swee Keat, written by a Secondary 4 student at Nan Chiau High School Janalle Lee.

One reason for the failure of Singapore’s education system she cited is that schools do not teach their students to ask ‘Why?’ The inquisitiveness and curiosity of students is often discouraged, even suppressed, by rote learning, memorisation and regurgitation of facts, just for the sake of doing well in examinations. Without the seeds of imagination and creativity, how can talent be grown? Although grades may be a criterion to the passage into the working world, if youths are go rigid that they do not know how to apply the knowledge they have learnt, it is as useful as learning nothing. It is a frightening thought that our leaders of tomorrow are immune to reform and cannot think out of the box to formulate new policies. The priority of schools is not to ensure that students get good grades, but rather to ensure that they enjoy the process of learning. The basic goal of education is to bring out the best in each individual, not moulding children into products on a factory line.

Pure academic excellence does not guarantee success. Our education system needs to move beyond its traditional pragmatism. Take Bill Gates for example. The wealthiest man in the world for more than a decade was formerly a college dropout. But he stuck close to his passion and founded the multimillion-dollar company we all now know as Microsoft. Failing an examination is not the end of the world if the child recognises and puts his talents into good use.

Another flaw Janalle pointed out is that schools are ineffective in developing a student’s character. Youths nowadays often care only about themselves and not the society. This is no wonder as for a child to have a healthy character, he needs a conducive environment that teaches him moral values. Although students are taught Civics and Moral Education, examination preparation is the first priority in schools. And with examinations come fierce competition. Students are taught from young to fend for themselves in a competitive environment. The result? A generation who excels in academics but remains apathetic to the less fortunate in society.

However, is an ideal education possible? An ideal education system is one where teachers teach out of their love for teaching and students learn out of their love for learning. In this education system, schools would focus more on the process of learning and less on the end result. The emphasis will not be on obtaining academic achievements but rather on developing the students’ abilities and life skills. Ultimately, education is to prepare for the future. Students from this ideal education system will seek careers that will not only contribute to society, but they will also enjoy. If the authorities can reform the education system swiftly and drastically enough, I believe an ideal education system is entirely possible.