Do you think there is a need for change in the educational system in your country?

The education system in Singapore is one that very much follows that of British system. In fact, our “A” and “O” level examinations are still from Cambridge. In Singapore, students learn a main language- English-and their mother tongues as the second language. A variety of subjects such as math, science and arts are also introduced to the students in their early years. The syllabus we follow is similar to that of England’s, reason being we want to keep our standards similar to that of England’s and the rest of the world.

I think the reason for the system to be of this nature is practical and logical. Firstly, Singapore is a multi racial country. It would be impossible for every one of us to learn all the languages of the four main groups. Also, adopting only one language as the official language would be unfair and may cause racial riots. Secondly Singapore, being a small country, does not have the power or capability to assert that people who want to communicate with it must learn its language. This is unlike Japan or China, where foreigners have to learn their language. Thus, to ensure effective communication between Singapore and the rest of the world, English was chosen, and the British educational system was adopted to ensure that our standards were up to mark with that of the world’s, since England is a very influential country.

However, a few changes to the system would be beneficial.

First of all, the original British education system was set up to create workers. Although Singapore has made changes to it over the years, by and large, the aim of the system still holds. Education in Singapore still remains very much a system of preparing people for the workforce. Even though this is a practical aim, it is flawed in many ways. Students nowadays view education only as a mean of getting certificates of proficiency and then securing a job in the industry. Education, it seems, is only about being able to live a good life at the end of the day. What happens is that although this is not the aim of the government, students often think it is, and School has turned into a place not for learning, but for competition. Students try to outdo each other and hopefully turn out to be the crème de la crème so that they may secure the best of jobs and live a smooth sailing life. Palto, who lived more than two thousand years ago, wrote that education was a lifelong endeavour. The perspective that students have here is that education stop after graduation.

Education in Singapore encourages conformity, generally. It does not allow enough individual expression, as much of the British system is based on teamwork. Perhaps that explains why Britain has produced fewer scientists and better soldiers. The American system, however, caters more to individual learning and has created more scientists and contributed more to the world than any other system. Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, both individuals in the education system, show how American education stimulates individuality, although it has the disadvantage of weakening the group.

A good education system would be a blend of the best systems in the world. Drastic changes are not required, since the brand of Singapore education is one envied by many. We produce results, as seen in the case of Raffles being an “Ivy League Machine”. Refinements are needed to strengthen the needs of individuals, and little emphasis should be placed on education being a quest for jobs.