CNA | Talking Point | E19: Singapore education reforms - What do parents, students feel about it?

This week, in a special episode of Talking Point, a group of parents and students get real about the slew of changes to Singapore's education system. Unknown to them, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung is there to address their feedback.
About the show: Talking Point investigates a current issue or event, offering different perspectives to local stories and revealing how it all affects you.
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[@lindalim1074]

Instead of just focusing on “exam or not exam” to reduce the need for tuition, What we need is smaller class size so that Teachers are able to spend enough time to not just teach but also coach each student so that no one will be left behind. Our Teachers today don’t have sufficient time to truly bond with their students and truly treat them as individuals instead of a “class”.

[@madamcuriouss]

smaller class means more teachers, we have a lack of teachers here in s'pore

[@gamingrex2930]

@@madamcuriouss But if we dont reduce class size, how will the future generations do better?

[@reagancapwell685]

@@gamingrex2930 check out poor economics. Reducing class size seems like a simple way to improve oh be education quality but it isn't as effective as its touted to be. More important things are the curriculum content and how the curriculum is assessed. It seems counter-intuitive but it truly works.

[@ayanokoji5594]

If you need many teachers then you should pay them more it's simple .

[@princevaliant]

Indeed, just like nurses, teachers is a orofession not anyone can and are willing to work as. Pays and perks wasn't attractive, it takes passions to be a good teacher... You mind FT taking up this position? Maybe your child will speaks Mexican to you when you are home as the teacher is from Mexico. The quality of teaching staffs is also a factor to consider and teachers rather go private like tution centers that pays more. But your suggestion of snall class is a fine one. I also hooe my child can attend smaller class. Untill more Sgreans willing to take up teaching or allow gov to hire more FT to fill up lack of teaching staffs.

[@ybbolb]

The minister came out too early. It's hard to have a candid discussion with him around.

[@txicemiya1625]

Agreeable,the pressure on the people are very high when they see the person in charge of something they have some other opinion about

[@afiframadhan277]

Instead of focusing on the topic they are talking about, I should admire how smart the parents are. They able to express their opinion effectively without a meaningful barrier.

[@AndricChia]

This discussion is so open and it is so amazing! CNA needs to do this open discussion more often!

[@mamemo359]

His daughter asked for tuition because she couldn't keep up. The minister needs to ask why so many students can't keep up in school that they or their parents feel that tuition is necessary.

[@yeezhihao]

We should be so grateful minister ong has the right passion and attitude toward education

[@lindalim1074]

Another flaw in our education system is that we create the illusion that everyone in Singapore is born “perfect” since we don’t allow diversity in terms of special needs and those with disabilities to integrate or even “exist” in all schools. To drive“efficiency”, it is at the expense of the dignity of the less fortunate. The result is that many students in regular schools (99%) are awkward and don’t even know how to interact or help one another when they are out in the real world where it is not all “perfect”. By segregation, we are not including all and ensuring everyone has the right to feel they belong as an equal in our society, we are not allowing our kids to truly embrace and practice Diversity & Inclusion. Rather, we led some into expecting “Straight As” is the norm, anyone scoring less is a loser, failing is unacceptable and if you are not perfect, you are unforgivable and has no right to exist.

[@jc4448]

there is path light north light and many special schools. society is harsh. life is tough. check out other developed countries and see how special need kids or adults or treated.

[@shanekiat2177]

@@jc4448 first, dont compare. you are not solving the issue of singapore assuming every student is "perfect" by comparing

[@angelamagnus6615]

This minister got 1st class honor at LSE. I am so jealous of him.

[@lindalim1074]

We need our government to be pragmatic in supporting the biz yet stay focus on Singaporean’s future first. From a HR professional perspective, We need to immediately allow more Singaporeans not just TOP students to study computer science/IT/Software/cybersecurity/data analytics/courses and be equipped with the hot skills that are in demand globally if we want to close the skill-job GAP we are facing today and Ensure our people continue to be relevant and employable in the future. There are too many vacancies yet we don’t offer more such courses and provide more such Earn as you learn job opportunities to train and close the skill GAP. In fact, computing should be a compulsory subject from primary school.

[@gabriellel1118]

Well said! In this technological world, it's important that we have good media skills!

[@pspsps]

Psle is nthing when u finish it, there r many more exams after that

[@thegoonist]

diana too extra. just get to the point. issue here is we live in a competitive, capitalistic, globalised world where the best survive. the reduction of stress will not help kids become tougher to compete in the global marketplace in the long run. the only way to sell this is that reducing exams in fact IMPROVES the child's education. theres a few ways to argue this. 1 way was mentioned: less exams = more time for teachers to teach better = smarter kids. another way is less exams = less implicit emphasis BY THE SYSTEM in exams (not necessarily by parents, but it is hoped that the govt taking the lead/setting an example of where their values/principles lie will change parents' minds in the long run) = more room to fail = more creative students = more entrepreneurs/or citizens who are able to adapt in a quickly changing global market where creativity is increasingly valued vs. rote-learning. another way maybe that less exams = more time to do other stuff = more creativity/love for learning etc., with the same outcome of more creative, competitive citizens who are better equipped to compete in the global marketplace.

[@ajisenramen888]

Please return “ good citizenship” to our curriculum. The one where we learn about Singaporeans of every race language and religion. Understanding leads to acceptance and we stand united as SINGAPOREANS. It’s so scary to see what is happening around us with the radicalisation of many youths in the region. We need to teach them to fact check as well as respect for our country our family unit and our fragile peace.

[@LWL-sz5lh]

As much as I want to agree with you, it is not effective. As a Singapore student, they currently have a subject called Character and Citizenship Education. The issue is that not many would take the subject seriously as they felt that it is less important compared to subjects like Science, Physics and Social Studies which are tested in PSLE and the O and N levels. However, the teaching to fact check is being taught in Social studies for Secondary students which is compulsory, especially on teaching about whether sources are reliable.

[@N____er]

Please no CCE, as a student it is literally the MOST BORING SUBJECT ever in school. No one in my class ever listens to CCE and mostly just does their homework "secretively".

[@lindalim1074]

I also believe we need to move away from O and A levels towards IB curriculum for all the academic and more apprenticeship for all students starting from Secondary to prepare them to be more worldly and employable not only bookish and sheltered.

[@thiskeithlee]

Linda Lim some people can’t keep up to the IB curriculum

[@lindalim1074]

keith lee I thought our A levels is tougher than IB?

[@thiskeithlee]

Linda Lim I am not quite sure about a levels. Being harder than IB but from what I have heard about IB some students might just not be able to cope with the stress and amount of homework

[@beepmeep3258]

@@lindalim1074 its a bit late of a reply but from my understanding IB is harder due to having to do so much more to do like 7 subjects from 7 areas (science, math, English, second language, art(or 2nd science) , humanities) + 4000 word research essay + 7 pieces of coursework each ranging from 8 pages of writing to 20 depending on subject + CAS(community service and extra curriculars are mandatory or you fail the diploma) + 10 minute presentation and a 1600 word essay on philosophy. I haven't tried other subjects but doing some A level further math exam questions, our math is harder.

[@beepmeep3258]

@moonshoes I think for standard level thats true, but for Higher level we do achieve quite a bit of depth

[@Happy-v3f5d]

They missed out an important factor: school principal

[@dadsonworldwide3238]

Its scary how some countrys around asia has kids basically in class for 15 hrs a day. the mind must be handicapped from creative thinking out side the box.

[@lucretius8050]

Well, when you're graded for arts and craft i don't know if anyone would think outside the box.

[@kvrscience]

as a teaacher from india, this kind of discussion should go in our country also. but our politicians are not on par with these fellows

[@jimw8615]

It's unfortunate, no one focus on learning and applications. What are the exams for computer games, sports, music,....? There are music performance, sports competition, art exhibitions,... why students stop studying after exam? They are not interested in learning. They are only studying to do well in exam.

[@jimw8615]

Jellygrass 2245 You are exactly an Ass-ume is what I always tell my children. Completely missed my point. A typical smart aleck that is off the tangent.

[@yixuanlee8934]

Amen! Mr kung

[@pspsps]

Honestly teachers r gonna hv the hardest time

[@nicolefranklyn4293]

Students should get a chance to grow and have fun in their early years and just focused on exams. This cannot be good for future individual's health

[@iw4075]

I really think we should change the society's mindset but again, it's so hard because most people in SG are very conservative. Sometimes, we're also competing against things that don't actually matter to all students. We need to strategically create classes and subjects to cater to different groups of students based on what they want.

[@paullim4886]

Wow...sooo constructive and open frank session...our Ministers are top class...God bless...Amen

[@se4nng]

17:22 Host interrupts the Education Minister...

[@markusang]

Might be because of time constraints, still kind of rude though

[@arrowstheorem1881]

The extreme stress already proved something unhealthy in the system. Yet, some in the discussion group seem to support such a system which has made many become Paranoid, Kia Su, Kia Kia Kia. Some stress is reasonable but sg level of stress is something wrong about it. So what if score well in exams? In the real world can they perform? Eg. In technology, what is one product a locally born Singaporean has invented that is among the best products in the world we are using? If you cannot name one, that tells you my point. To succeed in life there is no need to score top marks in exams.

[@davinxip8375]

We value our performance through hard work and good merits

[@funkadelic00]

Grit and delayed gratification are qualities we need to instill in the youths. However it is unfair to impose that on children esp in primary school. But because the economy is a knowledge based one you won't get to participate in it if you don't play the game. We also need to know that having a satisfactory life does not always mean being a corporate high flyer. The education system teaches us how to make a living but not make a life. There should be a balance and individuals need to decide for themselves when they get older.

[@arrowstheorem1881]

All these decades of self-praising of the SG education system has hidden the flaws in the entire system. Why change it if it's not broken?

[@coutinhorio99]

great beginning honesty from nice guy like mr kang,he came from more friendly figure like president jokowi whom is humble....to be frank,singapore need real revolution in education system to prepare students or young generation to be more creative,common knowledge ,friendly,smile and not only score score score,if a singaporean goes to malaysia,thailand or indonesia to start business,they cant go there by what book says....time has change alot ,other nation rising too and more creative and entreprunership mindset and not kiasu mindset,this kiasu mindset from top goverment to society has to be really been addressed to shape singapore next generation to be more likeable elsewhere,ask other nations on how singapore behaviour overal in society ,do we want this to carry on for next generation ?do we want to have hongkongers general behaviour??lets be honest ....if we honest ,then we have chance t move forward,but if we try to find excuses then it might be harder for us to see the real problem in singapore chain of society and stressful education which shape the student mindset to be ego in overal....

[@HoshikawaHikari]

This is interesting~ (Malaysian student in A levels)

[@jrukawa11]

The tuition centres going to monetise the exam gap

[@caedanteng5417]

PSLE DADB Olevel L1R5 =29 Nlevel = 16 And now serving the pharmacy working with accuracy and number. Why not set paper that's have a few real life scenario. Stress is real. But how about assess how one inquiry skill are ?.

[@Miinecraftserver]

9:04 poor kid didn't knew the room was bugged all the time . btw minister and his mistress are quite impressed when that young boy said he knew whom he's talkin to . the rest is history all the people in that room started to put their shitting pants back on.

[@xcre8ionx]

In Malaysia they are worry of the color of the shoes 😂

[@DennisLimCY]

hey hey.... color of shoes are very important too! After one graduate, one spends a lot of time thinking about shoes. Better to start in school!

[@FF-ds9xw]

@@DennisLimCY Lmao

[@Growthunlimited]

Can someone enlighten me about the type of administration work a teacher needs to do?

[@calewong]

Im a local chinese male singaporean 29 yrs old.I was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 18 after finishing my 'o'levels with 5 credits.I enrolled into republic poly for a yr two semesters with a gpa of 2.15 and tht was the time the schizophrenia hit to make matters worst after i was diagnosed with ocd 5 yrs after the contributory factor of taking olanzapine given to me by my imh doctor for my schizophrenia which she later admitted could have been a contributing factor. Now im suffering and they act as if nothing happened.Im very angrybwith why i cant serve god and study in a seminary just because i dont have a diploma.I hope the local church survives here for the next few yrs .You have gone very far off from jesus.jesus took in fishermen to build his church not aristocrats or the elite.Its not fair whos to say i really cannot handle the assignments and exams.You have closed of so many options because im 'uneducated'.to be fair you will probably tell me beggars cant be choosers but i didnt choose to have two psychiatric illnesses.k

[@caedanteng5417]

Agreed

[@robiu.k.4504]

Singapore the best nation in the world

[@deezem5294]

Oh please, its not

[@kvrscience]

discussion is witout the presence of teachers opinion ..... think

[@princevaliant]

Parents needed to be educated too to understand about the children are not their channel to compete and show off or discriminate .schiool should work with counsellors and MOae to impose compulsory classes for parents to attend and educate them and to guide them on helping their children learn positively, not meeting the parents ego desires to compete.

[@Mixedup-vz3fv]

I appreciate for this talk.

[@arrowstheorem1881]

So has any Dean locally born in Singapore a inventor of best product in the world we are using ? So what does it say about the education system?

[@donnyyen6484]

The real question is. What is the status of our beloved minister kids

[@zoeng9026]

mr kang lol so cute

[@txicemiya1625]

Honestly,MOE decisions might affect me alot,but who am I to complain,still have to adapt what

[@txicemiya1625]

Who is here because the teacher ask you to so you can answer 13+ questions on your foolscap

[@GamingBickle]

Noone ask the student how they feel?

[@dongjing7283]

Many ppl cannot share their real opinions when the camera is in front of them.

[@bodician130]

Singapore is very status consuious .it very pressure for children . Singapore is over does alot .it is also more of a one side track Chinese Asian power super sad about it.i am so scared for the future .

[@seng628]

good education Sg ...

[@SinSnxpes]

U sarcastic?

[@princesssupernova5300]

So basically students who do well like exams.

[@Ksoksisnidin]

Just talk about bellcurve/moderation....

[@harja222]

U can send your kids to indo. Stress free here

[@C837-u3l]

There is no need to set the academics bar so high in Singapore compare to the countries you are importing your IT and Science headcount . Parents would like the schools to make math and science subjects an interest to their children and let their children embarked on STEM careers. Look at your curriculum and PSLE questions, the person who sets the questions is only interested in beating their own chest and not the long term interest of the children nor the skills demand for the country.

[@arrowstheorem1881]

So the SG education system has been wrong? Hahahaaaa!!! Who were the past miniters of education? They were paid extremely well!

[@theannyoonwee8550]

Good for Singaporean

[@BeachBoi1000]

Why the PSLE now is so different from the PSLE when I took it? Anyway, I want to be a doctor. I hope they don’t look at my grades. I have the passion!

[@apurvasinghai7224]

I suppose this whole world is so used to having exams that they can't imagine a world without exams. As they say, exam is a checkpoint therefore if exams go away, how would one verify where one stands in terms of learning? So, if examinations are here to stay, what may be a better approach to give exams? The difficulty with exam is that the person who sets the exam, selects few questions and pupils are supposed to answer those selected questions. Such a test comes with a risk that a student, who might be good with other topics or questions in that subject, might not have the same level of knowledge towards the questions that appeared in that particular exam. Does that make a student a loser or failure? Maybe if he/she obtains another alternative paper of the subject, then he/ she might do well. I also believe that schools should give up on school tests and instead instil in students the self-motivation to discover what they enjoy and then devote their time and effort to that pursuit. Ultimately, students must realise that their futures are in their own hands and that self-discipline is the only way to succeed. No body's going to push them. They gotta push themselves. I assume this freedom will do a lot of good then these exams

[@arrowstheorem1881]

Ben Yeo is a national TV channel actor /artiste. Why is he in this group? Is this show scripted?

[@CM-gz3eg]

It's amazing how ungrateful/ignorant many of these people are. Pressure, discipline and stress breed competence and high-level performance, that make a difference, most visible in times of crisis like these days. Malaysia's death toll is 160/1M, Indonesia's 220+/1M and many of the countries here in Europe where most think life is better have a rate in the range of 1500-2000/1M. Meanwhile, a small, crowded city like Singapore has 7 deaths/1M population. How many of your parents and grandparents would be dead by now? Is this just an accident or the result of a very well trained and disciplined public health service, medical staff and general population? You got to keep the gift of life, many others lost it...

[@lucretius8050]

School stigmatisation, that's where most of the stress is from. When you need to stay close, have money, get top grades just to get into these schools then obviously parents will push their hardest to get their children into these schools. Teachers' increase in administrative work? I've seen teachers' racking their brains to design a circulum plan which is so inefficient cause it can be done more as a top down approach however still allow teachers who want to design their circulum to do so. No talks about subject relevance, I believe we have all been at that stage whereby we have "returned the education back to the teachers". Often many ask ourselves what is the point in studying Trigonometry, Biology, Chemistry cause they never get used. Rather the most important exposure that is lacking in Singapore is exploring the job and work people do all the way from farming, doctors, engineers, police, lawyers, bus drivers etc. Without such exposure studies are just for the sake of studying without a goal, furthermore it is quite painful as it require good grades in certain subjects for a job/goal that may not even require it. I'm not sure about others but i always have difficulty answering this question "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

[@SB-dk7fy]

Exam should continue

[@williamlouie569]

Education is not to learn anything useful but to pass exams! Then you wonder why people are so stupid these days.

[@sumenthrirao8489]

🇸🇬

[@fckingsg5638]

BO'ONG YE KUNG KUNG...SUPERBLY REJOICE TO DROPOUT FROM SINGAPOOR.. SINGAPOOR EDUCATION THAT PRODUCED SUCKERBERGS & YES MEN & LEMMINGS

[@jrukawa11]

But when they played games and level up, is not exam?

[@arrowstheorem1881]

The audience includes a mediacorpk artiste. Is this show scripted?

[@insighttoinciteworksllc1005]

This is the type of intelligence that will be mastered by AI? These people don't know the opposite of instruction. Critical thinking by instruction is molding minds which AI calls programing minds. Critical thinking is a process.

[@mustafaaustinpowers5748]

Book-smart but not street smart no use.Practical>Theory

[@TW-akatim212]

Oh gosh, Singlish.

[@arrowstheorem1881]

Education is misleading. Why? You may be asking ? Well, what has the top scorer in Science, Technology or Medicine locally born Singapore grad invented that is the best product in the world? I know of none. So, what is the reality ? Education vs Real world performance. Simply put, my point is, a top scorer in karma sutra may not be able to perform? The best technology, medicine, science are not founded by the best scorer in exams. What does this say about education system? Guys, do not be a well educated fool. Wake up from the hypnosis

[@jhucheng3210]

Well not like those ITE students will invite a lightbulb

[@arrowstheorem1881]

@@jhucheng3210 do not look down on ITE. Some are Millionaires. They make your degree look like a joke or toilet paper. How to compare with them? Maybe if you get a PhD you can be millionaire? You can discern my joke right? How rich are Deans? Need I elaborate more? Do you now understand what is education ?

[@jhucheng3210]

@@arrowstheorem1881 Education is an investment by the government to produce an educated workforce that will pay the government taxes

[@jhucheng3210]

@@arrowstheorem1881 the few ITE people that become millionaire is quite rare

[@arrowstheorem1881]

@@jhucheng3210 and how many Deans invented anything best in the world? You think most in the world are millionaires ah? Aiyoyo...

[@arrowstheorem1881]

I wonder is this show scripted ?

[@fcuksingapoor1033]

BHO ONG

[@arrowstheorem1881]

Is Steve chia pro pap ? Hahaha

[@omarcherkaouiu9633]

This discussion is so open and it is so amazing! CNA needs to do this open discussion more often!

[@omarcherkaouiu9633]

This discussion is so open and it is so amazing! CNA needs to do this open discussion more often!

[@omarcherkaouiu9633]

This discussion is so open and it is so amazing! CNA needs to do this open discussion more often!