Singapore’s education system has always been highly ranked compared to other countries all over the world[1]. As a citizen who has gone through Singapore’s education system from elementary school to junior college, I have more than ten years of experience within the education system, although my experiences do not speak for all Singaporeans. There are many Singaporeans who find Singapore’s education system too competitive, too academic-oriented, too stifling, not encouraging enough of creativity, and too focused on the mathematics, sciences and engineering. This article will not focus on the negative aspects on Singapore’s education system, but rather on the positive aspects. This article is also not meant to be an academic study of the education system. In other words, this article is about what I appreciated most about my time in Singapore schools.
Going through graduate school in the U.S. made me thankful for the Singapore school system. Basically, the Singapore education system “drills” information into you. The basics are repeated over and over again until you know it like the back of your hand. Memorization of information for exams is crucial, especially in science and humanities. While some may criticize this method of education, personally, I think this method has benefits.
For mathematics, we do not use the calculator until Primary 4 (equivalent to 4th Grade in the U.S.). From Primary 1 to Primary 3, all of the mathematics examinations involved what we call “mental sums” where you had to solve the problems without using a calculator. Even up to Primary 6 we had portions of our examinations where calculators could not be used. It sound trivial, but I think the training in solving mathematical problems in our heads and not relying upon the calculator helped in building a strong foundation for more difficult math problems later on during schooling.
Secondly, Singapore’s education system is known to be competitive. Every year, from Primary 1, students are ranked according to how they perform in the end of the year examinations. Students are divided into different classes according to their abilities with the strongest grouped into one class and the weakest grouped together. This ensures that students remain competitive while learning and the best are forced to compete with the best. At the end of Primary 6 (12 years old), we have a national exam for all Singaporean students. This puts the students on a national, level playing field. The secondary schools are ranked and students are able to get into schools depending upon how they perform on the national exam. Similarly, at the end of Secondary 4 (16 years old), another national exam is held and students are accepted into Junior Colleges or Polytechnics according to their performance. In other words, throughout your whole life, you are competing against students who are as smart as you. Your grades matter at all levels and determine how you are moved onto the next stage of your schooling. This way it doesn’t really matter how much your parents are able to pay for you to get into a good school. In the end, your grades have to be good enough.
Links:
[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27314075;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/best-education-in-the-wor_n_2199795.html
