I was on my way to work this morning. ..and something caught my eye….a student from one of the international school in Singapore was participating her school P.E lesson and guess wat she wearing Hijab…
I am happy and at the same time confused. ..
International School in Singapore allowed her student wear Hijab which I am happy to see but our normal school in Singapore prohibited it…..
Shame on you MOE….n also Yacob Ibrahim. ..
Source: YatiMimi Black
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is investigating a case of alleged bullying that happened in a classroom at Shuqun Secondary School in Jurong East.
A 52-second video clip of the incident was first posted on the Facebook page of All Singapore Stuff on Monday (Sept 21) morning.
It has since garnered over 56,000 views and has been shared close to 3,000 times.
It is not clear when the incident took place.
The video, which appears to have been filmed by another student, shows a male student slapping the head of a classmate repeatedly with both hands. He then picks up a book and uses it to hit the victim’s head, before doing the same to another classmate who was seated nearby.
Both victims kept their heads bowed and did not retaliate. Another male student can be seen dancing on the teacher’s table in the background while the bullying was going on.
MOE’s Facebook page has been inundated with requests from netizens to look into the matter. In response, MOE said that it was aware of the incident and was investigating.
It is understood that the school is also conducting investigations and it has been established that a case of bullying had likely occurred.
The Straits Times has contacted MOE and Shuqun Secondary School and is awaiting their official replies.
People who commented on the original post condemned the student’s actions and urged MOE and the school’s authorities to take appropriate action.
Wrote netizen Alice Tan: “It’s so ridiculous, school is a place to study not for bullies. The school should take disciplinary action immediately.”
Source: www.straitstimes.com
6 years ago on this date, I remembered having to vacate the HDB flat I lived in at Sengkang with my mum. I was 18, still schooling and was given monthly allowance by MOE, and she was ill and unemployed for the longest time. The the both of us had no place to go. We resorted to this mutual agreement to separate; we had to find different respective friends who could give us shelter separately, whether it was for a day, a week, a month, a year, whichever would suffice.
She found a friend she could live with for a few months so I was relieved. On my end, I had friends here and there who offered shelter, offered sleepovers, and on some unlucky days when they couldn’t, I would spend most nights staying up at beaches or void decks with my bags of unwashed and unused clothes and cheapskate art materials plus my crumpled assignments, looking for a plan, in hope of another saviour to take me home. I seeked help from MPs, from different Family Service Centres, different Homeless Shelters, they could only help so much.
Prior to the days when I had no where to go, I couldn’t do my assignments, I had no money to get materials, didn’t even eat or sleep proper, I ended up skipping school very often, I even skipped exams. I was already bonded with MOE’s 9-year teaching contract at that point, my absenteeism and grades were horrendous. I couldn’t graduate after my 3rd year of NAFA. So I had to retake hell lot of modules. My allowance from MOE was being taken away. I had to pay for the modules I had to retake, and having no allowance led me to work 2 jobs while schooling.
Working 2 jobs allowed me to earn just enough for a decent rental of a room, open market, which was ridiculously costly. But I was devastated and separated from my mum too long, eventually I managed to afford renting a room with my mum, at a few different strangers houses and the owner was present in their homes while we stayed. Unpleasant experience it was, living in someone’s house you don’t even know, they had rules like you can’t cook, can’t use the living room, you can only do your laundry once a week and all. They assume and accuse you of every minor or major thing that could possibly go wrong in that premise. It was like living in a prison cell with no privacy yet numerous obligations. But I couldn’t complain. It was better that at least me and my mum were sheltered together.
Spent a year to clear all my modules but I still failed and couldn’t graduate after my 4th year. NAFA was going to expel me, MOE was going to terminate my bond, which simply meant I had to pay all the liquidated damages back. I appealed, begged, pleaded for them to give me one more year. So again I had to pay for the modules I retook, rental cost got more expensive when we moved from one place to another each time our contract ended, mum’s health worsensed, so I worked 3 jobs instead.
At that breaking point, I kept reminding myself one thing, that I already spent my teenage secondary school years in an abusive and dysfunctional household while I was still staying in my own home at Sengkang. Already spent years of my teenage life working in KFC every night after school even during O’Levels, no electricity at home so I studied with a candle and spent the remainders of my sleepless nights taking care of my sick mum. I had an elder sister who used to provide for us but she passed away. I was reminded of when people from the Subordinate Court crashed my place to seize all our furniture because of debts so my house became bare and empty. Or when people splashed paint out my door because of debts again. Or when policemen had to keep coming to make or break a scene. And I thought THAT was bad. Until I lost my home eventually. Felt like I lost everything.
Finally graduated from NAFA after my 5th year and moved on to NIE. Life got better when I stepped into NIE because I finally started receiving monthly allowance all over again. I could finally quit my 3 jobs, and in that same year HDB finally granted me a home to stay in. Eventually graduated from NIE and started my teaching career till today. I never had to look back since then.
Throughout that journey, I owe my life to my friends and teachers from secondary school, my colleagues from KFC, a few close classmates from NAFA and some other friends and roommates I met along the way, for seeing me through and providing for me when no one else could. I wouldn’t have stayed sane without you guys. Sure, like every other typical kid I’ve been depressed as hell, suicidal attempts were endless, and now when I think about it, I laugh at myself. Thank you God, for watching over me and my mum, and for blessing me with amazing friends. They were the family I never had.
Source: Rohaishah Hamid
A number of schools have cancelled or moved outdoor activities indoors as the haze situation in Singapore worsens.
At Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, physical education classes were moved into the indoor sports hall when the school reopened yesterday after the September week-long holidays.
Principal Abdul Mannan said the school’s N-level cohort started examinations yesterday in air-conditioned classrooms to shield them from the haze. The school also has air purifiers on standby if the air quality deteriorates further.
Mr Mannan said: “We will try to allocate them to classes with a large number of students who have respiratory issues.”
Many other schools will be taking similar precautions. Education Ministry guidelines state that schools should minimise outdoor activities when air quality is in the unhealthy range, and stop all physical activity when it enters the very unhealthy range.
Air quality is at very unhealthy levels when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) falls between 201 and 300.
Schools say they are on alert for when the haze hits such levels.
“We are all prepared – we have masks ready for the kids and we have air purifiers,” said Mrs Ruby Seah, principal of the AWWA School for students with special needs.
“If the haze gets worse, we will have to make use of all the air-conditioned rooms, including the meeting rooms.”
At 9pm yesterday, the 24-hour PSI was between 133 and 166. The unhealthy range is 101-200.
Raffles Medical Group, which runs a string of general practitioner clinics, said there has been a 10 to 20 per cent spike in the number of patients with haze-related conditions such as eye or throat irritation.
“The whole spectrum from young children to the elderly are affected,” said Dr Michael Lee, deputy medical director at Raffles Medical.
“The group expects to see more patients seeking treatment in the coming weeks if the haze continues to worsen.”
Pharmacy chains also reported an increase in N95 face mask sales compared with previous months, but said they are unlikely to face a shortage.
Guardian Pharmacy said it has seen a 20 per cent increase in mask sales during the past two weeks, while a Watsons spokesman said its mask sales have gone up by more than 80 per cent.
NTUC Health’s Unity Pharmacy has seen a tenfold increase in the sale of N95 masks, said sales director for wholesale and housebrand Andy Wan.
“In addition, we are also stocking up on other haze-related items such as eye drops, inhalers and medication to relieve throat irritation,” he said.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
The makeover of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is still some time away, with the announcement to come next year at the earliest, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Parents and pupils will be given enough time to respond and adjust to the changes when they are implemented, he added.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said two years ago in his National Day Rally speech that the high- stakes exam would be revamped, and the aggregate T-score done away with.
Instead of getting a score out of 300 points, pupils will get grade bands – similar to how students get graded from A1 to F9 for the O levels or A to E for the A levels. The grades will then be converted to points to be used for admission into secondary schools.
Mr Heng said the Ministry of Education (MOE) is already putting diverse programmes in place in primary and secondary schools to meet the needs of different children. For instance, each secondary school has to develop two distinctive programmes by 2017 to cater to students’ interests.
“It is about choosing the school that has the programme, the emphasis and the fit, rather than about that one school that you must go to,” he said.
Recent SkillsFuture initiatives – such as the Earn and Learn programme for polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education graduates as well as the introduction of modular courses at the post-secondary level – also aim to send a message to parents and students that the emphasis is on lifelong learning and helping students enter their areas of interest, said Mr Heng.
“Some of us may take a longer pathway to reach our peak. Some of us may take a shorter pathway, and some will take a path less travelled and go do something completely different,” he said.
“There are many good pathways and I don’t need to cram at just the PSLE level and say that I must get into that one school.”
The MOE is still in the process of implementing programmes in secondary schools – especially in neighbourhood schools – to create differentiation, said Mr Heng.
These initiatives to create a more diverse secondary school landscape, with different schools offering different niche areas, will come before the PSLE revamp.
“Some parents believe that a certain school will help their child succeed better… It will take some time for this mindset to change,” said Mr Heng, adding that the end goal is not just about grades, but also about finding success in life.
Source: http://youthphoria.stomp.com.sg