Back in the 1960s, education was a privilege. With the literacy rate hovering around 50%, the ability to read and write was almost a foreign concept.
Knowing that Singapore would not survive without a skilled workforce, our founding fathers made education one of the backbones of our nation-building. During our early years, the focus was on expanding education to the masses. Since then, education reforms have sought to develop the skills and values needed to meet the country’s changing needs.
In the last few years, our education policies have shifted away from a one-size-fits-all approach. While grades are still important, there is now more space to take a holistic approach that celebrates a diversity in skills and talents. A move that will hopefully drive the change to broaden our definition of success.
Only earlier this month, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing announced plans to make the Higher Mother Tongue Language (HMTL) more accessible at the Mother Tongue Languages Symposium.
“We will do away with the current requirement for students to meet a certain overall PSLE score because we recognise that everyone has different strengths,” said Mr Chan. Instead, students will be able to take up HMTL in secondary school as long as they do well in their Mother Tongue at PSLE.
This change comes hot on the heels of a revamped Gifted Education Programme (GEP), which will be discontinued in its current form. After 40 years, it is timely to refresh our approach to broaden access to develop students with a range of higher abilities across all primary schools, said Mr Chan in Parliament.
That is not all. 2024 also marks the beginning of Full Subject-Based Banding (SBB) in all secondary schools. Piloted in 2020, SBB allows students to study subjects at a level cater to their strengths and interests. The radical policy marks an end to the streaming system which defined the education experience of a generation.
Taken together, these changes in our education policies aim to draw out our students’ innate abilities and interests. They acknowledge each individual’s unique strengths and provide the starting point for multiple pathways to success.
But as with many things, there have been pushbacks. Why switch things up when the status quo has served us well?
The answer, perhaps, is best encapsulated in an impassioned speech MP Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) gave in Parliament in 2019 titled ‘Scared Cows of Education’.
“When disruptions come fast and furious, we have no time to waste to ensure that our education system will indeed deliver the self-directed, self-motivated, lifelong learners we need, not just a good economy but also for a caring and inclusive society.
“What are the sacred cows that should be examined, modified or slain if no longer relevant?”
At the time, Ms Phua boldly urged the government to abolish streaming, PSLE and the GEP. Five years on, some of her ideas have been studied and implemented.
More importantly, they come at a time when we seek to prepare our children for a more complex future and build a more inclusive society.
And that, beyond imparting knowledge, is what education is all about. The commitment to invest in its people, to develop a confident, resilient and caring population is what makes the education system in Singapore one of the best in the world.
Photo Source: Chan Chun Sing/ Denise Phua via Facebook
