Tag: Singapore

Chee Soon Juan: Let SDP Reform And Modernise Education System
Our schoolchildren are driven to psychological despair as they struggle to cope with their schoolwork and exams: 22% of Singaporean children between 6-12 yrs thought of killing themselves. Many children actually commit suicide as a result.

Of those who survive, the majority are conditioned to hate books because they associate reading and learning with exams. Experts warn that such a system deprives society of creativity and innovation, hurting our economy in the longer term.

Even PAP MPs have voiced their concerns about the tuition culture but have not the courage to point out that it is the education system put in place by their party that is driving parents and pupils to such desperate lengths.

If elected, SDP MPs will work to reform and modernise our education system which is stuck in the past.

The recent mathematics question, now popularly called the Cheryl’s Birthday problem, seems to have amused (and stumped) the world. It first appeared on the Internet when it was reported as primary 5 level question.

The problem is that such difficult questions are not a rarity in exam questions for primary schoolchildren. These questions are meant to identify top performing students so that the Government can groom them for high-paying state positions.

Such a narrow practice of education feeds the fear in parents that their children’s future well-being is tied to doing well in exams. This drives them to absurd levels of expectations where they engage expensive private tutors to help their children perform – even to the extent of engaging tutors to do their children’s homework.

The MOE is only too happy to allow such a system to carry on because the billion-dollar tuition industry enables it to out-source the teaching of pupils to the private sector.

All this comes at a horrendous price. Our schoolchildren are driven to psychological despair as they struggle to cope with their schoolwork and exams:
- 22% of Singaporean children between 6-12 yrs thought of killing themselves.
- The no. of children warded for “aggressive, suicidal or hallucination tendencies” at IMH jumped by 35% between 2005-2010. Mental health professionals attribute these problems to academic stress.
- One in three students say they sometimes think that life is not worth living because of the fear of exams.
Many children actually commit suicide as a result. One is 10-year-old Lysher Loh who jumped to her death when she fared poorly in her mid-year exams. (Read Why do we do this to our children?)

Of those who survive, the majority are conditioned to hate books because they associate reading and learning with exams. Experts warn that such a system deprives society of creativity and innovation, hurting our economy in the longer term.

In fact, studies show that overloading our pupils with work and tuition harm, rather than help, their school performance and acquisition of life-skills.

Even PAP MPs have voiced their concerns about the tuition culture but have not the courage to point out that it is the education system put in place by their party that is driving parents and pupils to such desperate lengths.

Let’s stop the madness already. If elected, SDP MPs will work to reform and modernise our education system which is stuck in the past. Specifically, we will:

1. Remove PSLE. As pointed out, the stress of exams inflict horrific psychological trauma on our children. What’s more, it is not an intelligent approach to assess the abilities of primary-school students on a single exam.

2. Cultivate creative minds. Build confidence in children by helping them adopt an attitude of independent thinking, willingness to make mistakes, and persevere in the face of failed attempts.

3. Reduce syllabus, broaden curriculum. The syllabi for existing subjects will be reduced while subjects such as music appreciation, speech and drama, literature, etc. as well as periods for students to collaborate and interact to develop creativity will be introduced to provide a well-rounded curriculum.

4. Reduce class size. The SDP will reduce class size in our schools to 20 pupils/class from the current 40 to provide students the individual attention they need to succeed.

5. Scrap school and class ranking. Comparing exam results and ranking students and classes will detract from the real purpose of education which is self-improvement and self-actualisation.

Source: http://yoursdp.org
April 20, 2015
Being An Officer In And Out Of Camp

Stepping forward for the men in green

Some days ago, a story surfaced on social media where a man calmly mediated a misunderstanding between a NSF and a member of public on an MRT train. Our Singapore Army found that the man was no other than LTA Dionel Arun, a Platoon Commander in the 3rd Battalion, Singapore Guards.

LTA Dionel was returning home when he saw that a member of the public was upset about a soldier accidentally spilling plain water on the MRT. Noticing the distress in the servicemen, he stepped forward to apologise for the soldier’s actions anEditd assisted to clean up the spilled water.

LTA Dionel shared, “As a commander, I believe we are responsible for our soldiers whether in or out of camp, in or out of uniform and regardless of the unit. I feel that we need to appreciate our soldiers, who dedicate two years of their time serving the country. They deserve to be respected.”

That’s truly leading by example and caring for our soldiers. Well done LTA Dionel!

Source: The Singapore Army

April 20, 2015
Syazwan Ariffin Mohd Saleh: Perseverance Key To Graduating From Officer Cadet Course

A Leader’s Anecdote

OCT Syazwan Ariffin Bin Mohd Saleh from the Infantry will be commissioning this evening. He went Out-of-Course (OOC) due to injury and only rejoined the Officer Cadet Course (OCC) after he had recovered.

“My toughest moment was when I went OOC from the earlier course. During my recovery, I was deciding if I should take up the challenge of the OCC again. My family and friends however, encouraged me and this gave me a lot of emotional boost.”

As one who was relatively more experienced, some of the other Officer Cadets from his current course turned to him for advise. “Eventually we all managed to gelled together“, he shared. “When my peers needed help, I will help them, and vice versa. Everyone was in the OCC together, and everyone carried each other along. ”

OCT Syazwan’s experience in OCC has taught him the importance of believing in himself. “If I know and have trust in myself, I can do it. I aspire to be a leader who will walk the talk. When I instruct my men to do something, I will tell them to do what I believe is the best decision – and I will do it with them.”

The Singapore Army congratulates the 96/14 OCC and wishes them the best for their Commissioning Parade.

To Lead. To Excel, To Overcome!

Source: The Singapore Army

April 20, 2015
Lee Wei Ling: Honour The Spirit Of What Lee Kuan Yew Stood For

On April 6 a journalist from the Chinese evening paper Lianhe Wanbao sought to interview me about my father Lee Kuan Yew.

This was two weeks after Papa died, yet the outpouring of adulation from usually unemotional and often undemonstrative Singaporeans remained unabated. There were long queues to see Papa’s memorabilia at the National Museum. Stories and anecdotes about Papa continued in the media.

One example was a short telegram Papa sent home telling when he would arrive and a cryptic one word, “battleship”, which he used to tell his family he wanted steamboat for dinner. Unfortunately, no one understood what he meant and there was no steamboat for dinner. While it was entertaining, I found the story neither newsworthy nor educational.

One village in Tamil Nadu is planning to build a statue of Papa, another a museum, while a third wants to devote a memorial hall to honour his memory. If Papa were not cremated, he would be turning in his grave in shock and distress.

Closer to home, I was baffled by the news that our MPs were suggesting naming various structures or institutions after Papa.

Papa had worked hard to prevent any personality cult from growing around him. It would most certainly go against what he would want and what he stood for in life, such as service to Singapore and Singaporeans, because that was the right thing to do, without any ulterior motive, least of all self-promotion.

In life, Papa had to face publicity as he galvanised Singaporeans and put his views across to them, to persuade them to accept his decision about what needed to be done for their own welfare. He never courted publicity merely for the sake of publicity. When I wrote articles that mentioned him, I always checked with him before doing so, and his reply would be, “OK, but no hagiography”.

His reply to an ex-MP’s suggestion to name a monument or public structure after him was simply: “Remember Ozymandias.”

Ozymandias was a pharaoh in ancient Egypt. A sonnet by the 19th-century English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley refers to a huge but fragmented statue of Ozymandias with these words carved on its pedestal: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

But nothing remained except the desert. Shelley’s moral was that all prominent figures and the empires they build are impermanent, their legacies doomed to decay into oblivion.

The best response to Papa’s passing is to honour the spirit of what he stood for, which is the welfare of Singaporeans. There is much that we can all work towards for this purpose.

Similarly, to fuss over Papa’s personal objects or portrait defeats the purpose that he had strived for so diligently in life, which was the welfare of Singaporeans.

Yet, what I am told is stirring up Singaporeans is the house Papa lived in which was built more than 100 years ago. In his book, Hard Truths, he said he wanted it demolished because it was too expensive to preserve.

That he did not want the house preserved is obvious from his will which states: “It is my wish, and the wish of my late wife, Kwa Geok Choo, that our house at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 be demolished immediately after my death or, if my daughter Wei Ling would prefer to continue living in the original house, immediately after she moves out of the house. I would ask each of my children to ensure our wishes with respect to the demolition of the house be carried out.

“If our children are unable to demolish the house as a result of any changes in the law, rules or regulations binding them, it is my wish that the house never be opened to others except my children, their families and descendants.

“My view on this has been made public before and remains unchanged. My statement of wishes in this paragraph may be publicly disclosed notwithstanding that the rest of my will is private.”

Fellow Singaporeans, let us move on in a post-Lee Kuan Yew era and continue to behave with kindness and consideration towards each other and work for a better Singapore for Singaporeans.

If we, by the way, also benefit fellow humans who are not Singaporeans, that would not be a bad thing either. We are all born into this life and we shall all eventually die. Our existence between these points in time would be more meaningful and fulfilling if we can help other fellow human beings.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

April 20, 2015
Madrasah Students No Longer Need To Pay Examination Fees For Religious Subjects

Madrasah students will no longer have to pay national examination fees for religious subjects.

This was announced at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore Workplan Seminar on Saturday (Apr 18), about a month after examination fees were waived for madrasah students’ academic subjects.

The cost, expected to be S$25,000 annually, will be borne by the Madrasah Fund.

The fund was set up in 1994 to raise the standards of full-time madrasahs. There are currently six full-time madrasahs in Singapore.

The initiative, which starts this year, will benefit around 70 ‘A’ Level students and 350 ‘O’ Level students.

The three religious subjects that will be funded are Islamic Religious Knowledge for ‘O’ Levels, and Islamic Jurisprudence and Islamic Theology for ‘A’ Levels.

“Since the Government has promised to assist us to waive, for example, the fees for the national exams which involve only secular subjects, for madrasah students who also undergo examinations for religious subjects, we thought it’s best that we also equalise that as much as possible,” said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, and Communications and Information Minister.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

April 20, 2015