So let's start. The system runs on 1 key word; the belief which arguably brought us as a nation so far.
Meritocracy.
Nono, its not some PAP buzzword that they use, this is one of the principal ideals LKY used to push Singapore forward in the early days. This term, in context of the education system, refers to exams. Primarily the PSLE, 'O' and 'A' Level standardized test, but also intra-school tests.
So why is this so effective? First thing you must understand is that the sole aim of all education systems in the world is to produce good workers for the economy; and Singapore's is designed around that too.
It is carried out in tiers; let me elaborate.
Tier 1: "IP"
The cream of the crop. The best Singapore can offer. This people will be groomed to take on big roles in the future. The government often picks out the best of this tier and push them for political or military leadership. However, this people are stress-tested, and there will be more than a few casualties. This tier, is hard to enter once you are assigned a lower one at PSLE.
Tier 2: "Express"/JC Level
This tier contains around the top 33% of Singaporean students. This people will be taught to become the "talent" the Singapore needs to pull ahead of the competition. They will be pushed and pushed to JCs- where ideally they will move on to University and develop their skill-set some more. However, this is a very volatile group; because of the 4 years secondary school course, they are 1 year behind when it comes to the next standardized test, the 'O' levels. This means the chances of falling out is very high; and the people here are usually rotated with the 3rd tier.
Tier 3: "NA"/Poly
The vast majority of people land here. Given 1 extra year to catch up to join the upper tier, there is a very high chance of catching up. Students here are generally still academically based, albeit with technical subjects added into the mix. While some will succeed in catching up, the majority will fill up the polytechnic spots. If that happens, their chances of advancing up slims down even more, as they start to be trained to be the strong base Singapore needs for its Industry-based economy. Read: Cooperate drones.
Tier 4:NT/ITE
The lowest tier, unfortunately the people here are usually stagnant and unlikely to advance, and the main aim now is not academic stuff, but preparing them for work, ensuring they can feed themselves and not be a burden to the government.
Sad? Yes it is. However, this cold-hearted system produces arguably the best workers in the world. It acknowledges those who work for it while accounts for the weakest. It trains people based on their level of proficiency, and ensures no "good brain" is wasted by having a bad education.
But it leads to problems. Students are locked in competition against each other, and other factors start to shine through- Economic background is one. Those who can afford tuition often go further; and to catch up with others, the poor must invest equally in their children- which is a huge problem. Furthermore, the competition to get ahead lead to a cold war-este "arms race": I must have more nukes than them so I have the leverage. In this case, its tuition and assessment books. This leads to huge stress on the students, something I am sure we all know ample about. But this stress is perhaps good for the economy; arguably its creates "iron-forged" workers which can take stress, and creates a competitive atmosphere in the workplace.
The magic of meritocracy.
However, the biggest problem other than stress is "drones".
In the 20th Century, the key ingredients were labor and capital.-Fareed Zakaria, CNN
In the 21st Century, the key ingredients will be ideas and energy.
And thats the problem we are facing. Our traditionally industry, engineering based economy need to transition into a "critical thinking" based economy. Problem is our society isn't there yet. This sort of thing often comes from freedom of speech, open politics. Singapore has NONE of that. Many Singaporean voters just vote because they are scared or they don't care. Thats a problem, and to solve societal problems, we need education front and centre. And the gahmen knows that.
They have been pushing for a critical thinking based society for awhile now, most notably making social studies a compulsory subject. In addition, history and SS are both using the "LORMS" marking system. Take note the question asks "Do you agree" or "Explain your answer" It does not force political messages down out throats, but explain why they are done, and let you decide if they are good. Why do you think foreign talent questions has more criticism than pros? And if you notice, the syllabus pretty much explains the difficulty of governance- Domestic and Foreign issues.
CCAs also push students to become more diverse. As a chairman of a Infocomm club, I can say that there has been huge investments to my CCA field. Especially since IT will be vital to the economy. I am sure this is the case for many other CCAs, like the art ones, where there are paths for DSA and SOTA.
But all this theory is nothing if it can't be carried out without good grasp of the system, which is the 2nd most important part of the formula: centralized control, the MOE.
Its very easy to understand how a good government+ control over education is a very good thing, so let me contrast that with 2 other situations, both in the US.
1: 90% of Americans are christian, and a good proportion of them believe in what I like to call "bullshit science", where they ignore science and state that 1, global warming is not happening 2, Earth along with fossil fuel is formed 8000 years ago miraculously 3, Evolution is completely false.
Thankfully Singapore has a focus on math and science. But in the US, there are schools actually teaching that sort of bullcrap to students. You can instantly see what's the problem with uncentralized schools. (Which, coincidentally, most of those people view as socialism and thus is draconian)
2:US Teachers are paid shit. Nearly nothing. And the real fun catch is bad teachers can't be fired due to teachers unions tenures and are still paid. So good teachers paid nothing while bad teachers are paid the same just seating around. Its a recipe for disaster, which is what is happening in the US right now.
Most if not all Singapore teachers are civil servants, which allow MOE to kick out bad teachers and promote good teachers. Whats the word? Say it with me, Meritocracy. Good.
The downside to centralized is it can be viewed as socialism; excessive government control which can use to alter the minds of children. But Singapore technically is socialist, albeit Democractic-Socialist.
Our system is cold hearted; yet one of the most effective in the world. We have the right blend of China-este mindless student drones and now have quite a good platform for critical thinking to develop (just look at the recent elections) minds for the future.
So I end of here, hoping you picked up a few things. I may be wrong, so please correct me if possible.
Pakistan Education Says:
ReplyDeleteIt’s a very informative and useful article. This article is very affective to increase knowledge of students. I am very thankful to you for this information.