Dividend Chaser on Singapore Exams

From Today 17Mar2013:

In Singapore, examinations and school in its entirety are stressful. They are meant to be stressful, because it is the rigour of school that has taught us how to deal with stress and manage our time — important attributes in the working world.

But there is far too much emphasis on exams. We should not be defined by our results. We are so caught up in trying to score well that we neglect learning.

We memorise lecture notes and revere the 10-year series almost as if it were a religious text.

Our education system does not promote learning. Sometimes, when we ask teachers questions, we are given an answer that says “it is not in your syllabus, you don’t have to know it”.

We learn only what we need to learn, not what we want to learn, choosing the courses that are easier to score so as to get higher grades and enrol in better schools.

But what we can do does not depend on the schools we came from. We should instead remove competition between schools and level up “low-performing” schools.

The battle for positions at the university level also reveals the perception that a good degree will ensure a good, high-paying job and hence a good life.

But we need to realise that a good life consists of more than that.

We need to inspect the reasons for our policies. We need to differentiate between producing talent to grow our economy and producing talent because we want the best for our children.