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On 4 March 2019, several elected members of parliament beseeched the Ministry of Education to eliminate streaming entirely in secondary schools and instead replace it with subject-based banding, proffering that "evergreen" template of a rationale about how sorting students into classes based solely on academic ability only served to dent individual self-esteem. (As if subject-based banding wasn't merely a stale repackaging of the current state of affairs, but hey that's besides the point here)
A day later, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung officially announced that indeed streaming shall become a thing of the past by 2024. In his own words, this is what he said about the new assessment system: "For secondary schools, we will use G1, G2 or G3. G stands for "General". G1 will roughly correspond to today's N(T) standard, G2 to N(A) standard, and G3 to Express standard. Singapore and Cambridge will co-brand this new certificate, as both are strong international brand names in education, which will enhance the recognition and value of the certificate."
Wow talk about efficiency, bloody impressive. Even Harry Potter probably couldn't pull the wand out of his ass that fast to do battle with Lord Voldemort. Nor that extra large plate of chicken rice eaten for supper last night sliding down the entire length of the alimentary canal. Round of applause for the government in suddenly becoming astonishingly receptive to feedback.......*[coughs] General Election looming [coughs]*
Surely enough, the local internet erupted. Some lauded Mr Ong for getting things done on his watch, others expressed skepticism about whether anything had really changed. One popular opposition political figure even went as far as accusing the Education Minister of plagiarizing his party's idea. Ah well. We sifted through the online chatter and compiled a collection of interesting opinions (from Reddit Singapore and Facebook) which hopefully provides a reasonable snapshot of public sentiment:
By Twrd4321 (Reddit Singapore):
"Those MPs must be clairvoyant to be able to say streaming must be abolished only for the education minister to do exactly that the next day.
It’s a good move, though I would wanna know in greater detail the changes surrounding admissions into polytechnics and JCs."
By hellosugar (Reddit Singapore) :
"The PAP do it for the theatrics especially when an upcoming election is just around the corner. They plan it this way to make themselves look efficient, to show that the MPs are really hardworking and the government is very responsive to feedback.
We already do not air Singapore's parliamentary proceedings live on television unlike UK and other liberal democracies, therefore when SPH and Mediacorp's CNA report on a certain parliamentary discussion topic and the government announces new plans immediately at the snap of a finger, it is almost certain that everything was deliberately planned to win hearts."
Basically the incumbent MPs want you to know this: "Hey look at us - we are extremely productive, so please vote for the PAP in GE2019 yo".
By MerRyanSG: (Reddit Singapore)
"MOE is really nimble and flexible; its openess to feedback is astounding.
Yesterday many MPs proposed abolishing streaming altogether and today detailed plans were laid out!"
By triface1(Reddit Singapore):
"I think this is a step in the right direction. No longer will students be disproportionately penalized just because they are weak in only one or two subjects.
On the other hand, if the Education Ministry is striving to remedy the stratification issue... then meh. Elitism will never truly go away as long as elitist mindsets are encouraged by parents and seniors. Read: a student offering 7 G3 subjects thumbing his nose at someone offering 7 G2 subjects.
I personally feel the new system would make it more difficult to forge lasting friendships. With the current system, you'd face the same set of folks daily because everyone is assigned to the same class. Fast forward to the future it's probably more akin to studying in a university; kids will end up with more friends but aren't able to establish deep, meaningful connections."
By slaiyfer (Reddit Singapore):
"What a farce of a proposal when it's already been long decided."
By Yan Tan (Facebook):
"Ong Ye Kung has done quite a bit since taking on the education portfolio and there have been many good changes made. Keep it up sir!"
More at https://www.domainofexperts.com/2019/03/abolishing-streaming-in-secondary.html
A day later, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung officially announced that indeed streaming shall become a thing of the past by 2024. In his own words, this is what he said about the new assessment system: "For secondary schools, we will use G1, G2 or G3. G stands for "General". G1 will roughly correspond to today's N(T) standard, G2 to N(A) standard, and G3 to Express standard. Singapore and Cambridge will co-brand this new certificate, as both are strong international brand names in education, which will enhance the recognition and value of the certificate."
Wow talk about efficiency, bloody impressive. Even Harry Potter probably couldn't pull the wand out of his ass that fast to do battle with Lord Voldemort. Nor that extra large plate of chicken rice eaten for supper last night sliding down the entire length of the alimentary canal. Round of applause for the government in suddenly becoming astonishingly receptive to feedback.......*[coughs] General Election looming [coughs]*
Surely enough, the local internet erupted. Some lauded Mr Ong for getting things done on his watch, others expressed skepticism about whether anything had really changed. One popular opposition political figure even went as far as accusing the Education Minister of plagiarizing his party's idea. Ah well. We sifted through the online chatter and compiled a collection of interesting opinions (from Reddit Singapore and Facebook) which hopefully provides a reasonable snapshot of public sentiment:
By Twrd4321 (Reddit Singapore):
"Those MPs must be clairvoyant to be able to say streaming must be abolished only for the education minister to do exactly that the next day.
It’s a good move, though I would wanna know in greater detail the changes surrounding admissions into polytechnics and JCs."
By hellosugar (Reddit Singapore) :
"The PAP do it for the theatrics especially when an upcoming election is just around the corner. They plan it this way to make themselves look efficient, to show that the MPs are really hardworking and the government is very responsive to feedback.
We already do not air Singapore's parliamentary proceedings live on television unlike UK and other liberal democracies, therefore when SPH and Mediacorp's CNA report on a certain parliamentary discussion topic and the government announces new plans immediately at the snap of a finger, it is almost certain that everything was deliberately planned to win hearts."
Basically the incumbent MPs want you to know this: "Hey look at us - we are extremely productive, so please vote for the PAP in GE2019 yo".
By MerRyanSG: (Reddit Singapore)
"MOE is really nimble and flexible; its openess to feedback is astounding.
Yesterday many MPs proposed abolishing streaming altogether and today detailed plans were laid out!"
By triface1(Reddit Singapore):
"I think this is a step in the right direction. No longer will students be disproportionately penalized just because they are weak in only one or two subjects.
On the other hand, if the Education Ministry is striving to remedy the stratification issue... then meh. Elitism will never truly go away as long as elitist mindsets are encouraged by parents and seniors. Read: a student offering 7 G3 subjects thumbing his nose at someone offering 7 G2 subjects.
I personally feel the new system would make it more difficult to forge lasting friendships. With the current system, you'd face the same set of folks daily because everyone is assigned to the same class. Fast forward to the future it's probably more akin to studying in a university; kids will end up with more friends but aren't able to establish deep, meaningful connections."
By slaiyfer (Reddit Singapore):
"What a farce of a proposal when it's already been long decided."
By Yan Tan (Facebook):
"Ong Ye Kung has done quite a bit since taking on the education portfolio and there have been many good changes made. Keep it up sir!"
More at https://www.domainofexperts.com/2019/03/abolishing-streaming-in-secondary.html
