I do not think scrapping the examinations will be a solution to dissolve all concerns, simply because their existence is not the cause of current worries. The G.C.E examination models are adopted by quite a number of countries, and many other countries have their own equivalent of such. These exams have not caused as much controversy as they do in Singapore. I honestly think it is more about Singaporeans’ attitude towards examinations than the exams themselves.
It is always my belief that education is about partnerships, about parents, teachers and schools all playing to their best effort their roles assigned by the system in which we all strive hard in. In this case, opinions tend to focus on how teachers can or cannot adjust to achieve a student-centric approach to teaching. The single-mindedness I have seen is unfortunate, as they seem to have assumed no responsibility on the part of the parents, who are the ones enrolling their children in extra curriculum classes and paying for their children’ tuition fees, and thus contributing to the current academic-driven educational approach we all dislike.
Though I understand parents’ sentiment of falling victim to the “system”, of playing to the tune of the mainstream, that doesn’t mean I believe it is the case. Parents, more than any other person, can help shape our children’s thinking (result-oriented or value-driven), essentially, it has the biggest stake and biggest say in helping to achieve the desire outcome. Because of this, it is my opinion that parents should do more than they are now, also more than the teachers and the schools.
On the other hand, the system, which comprises of schools and policies, is steering to the right direction, albeit very slowly and gradually. But yes, we are moving forward. Permanent Secretary of Education Policy, Ms Chan Lai Fung unveiled several key initiatives of MOE towards achieving student-centric and value driven education model during Work Plan Seminar 2012. The idea behind such initiatives is that the system actually recognises the need for values, and is trying its very best to put into practice such focus on values, contrary to popular belief. As such, individuals should align their mentality in accordance with new changes for the whole education process to be truly value-driven. By that, I am referring to students and parents, not only teachers.
MOE has made efforts within its capability to upgrade individual school, ease schools’ award chase in general without compromising on standard. It has streamlined its school assessment and evaluation model to help schools better focus on developing their students holistically. Sweeping changes were made to the Masterplan of Awards this year. In addition, school banding by academic results has been removed, and in its place, is the incentive by MOE to develop a distinctively niche area of excellence, accessible to all schools.
“Basically, we want to refocus the effort of schools to do the things that would meet the specific needs of their students. And we want to emphasize collaborative efforts that would help level up the entire school system.”
--- Ms Chan
With this, MOE has pitched in the first of many initiatives to come, hopefully by all stake-holders of the education of our children. I am sure our teachers will follow suit, as they, more than anyone else, are a lot of change-makers. It signals that it might time for the parents to think of how they, the biggest stake-holder of all, can help to achieve a student centric and value driven education for their children.
