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http://edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/f..._s_roller_coaster_ride_in_primary_school.html
Boy's roller-coaster ride in primary school
BENSON ANG | The New Paper | Sun Dec 26 2010
He'll go to Pri 6 after several promotions and a demotion.
MUHAMMAD Iskandar Abdul Razak's primary school life has been played out like a game of snakes and ladders.
He was demoted from Primary 5 to Pri 2 and then promoted to Pri 3, Pri 5 and Pri 6 - all in less than two years.
He was demoted from Pri 5 to Pri 2 last year after his school discovered he could neither read nor write.
But when he was transferred to a new school earlier this year, hewas promoted back to Pri 5.
And, despite the odds, he managed to pass one of his subjects - foundation mother tongue - at Primary 5 and is now promoted to Pri 6.
Iskandar, now 12, already had difficulty with his schoolwork when he entered Pri 1 in 2005.
Yet, he found his way to Pri 5. It is not clear how he got that far as his previous school, Marsiling Primary, did not answer The New Paper on Sunday's queries.
When contacted, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said it does not have a system for demoting pupils and does not keep track of how many are demoted each year.
But the ministry spokesman added that schools would place pupils at levels suitable for them.
The social worker handling Iskandar's case, Mr Yet Tun Hoong, from Beyond Social Services (BSS), said Iskandar's parents were not active in his upbringing, and he used to live with an aunt in Ang Mo Kio.
The playful boy would often skip school to wander the streets. His aunt could not provide him with proper supervision because she had financial problems.
He ended up missing so much school that he could not even read and write despite being in Pri 5. So Marsiling Primary demoted him to Pri 2 in July last year, Mr Yet said.
Marsiling Primary principal Lee-Koh Siew Cheng told The New Paper on Sunday via e-mail that Iskandar's attendance was very irregular due to his family situation.
She said: "At Pri 5, he struggled with his studies and was unable to catch up with his school work. After several months of observation and assessment, the school decided to allow him to learn at a less demanding level."
Greater motivation
She added that at Pri 2, Iskandar started re-learning and was showing greater motivation in his studies.
He was active in group discussions and showed leadership qualities. His confidence also grew with the encouragement of his teachers.
Mrs Lee-Koh said Iskandar was promoted to Pri 3 this year. She did not explain why he was promoted over the years, given his results and family situation.
She also did not say if the school could have detected his problems earlier.
Iskandar told The New Paper on Sunday last week he was "disappointed" when he was first demoted.
"I felt like I was not as good as my classmates (who were in Pri 5). Some of them called me 'stupid', so I call them 'stupid' back," he said.
But he grew to like Pri 2. Because he was older, his new classmates looked up to him. He also liked getting up later. Pri 1 and 2 pupils are in the afternoon session.
Still, he would sometimes skip school. He also failed English, maths and mother tongue exams.
This year, he moved in with another aunt, who lives at Yishun Street 21, and transferred to Xishan Primary.
Xishan Primary decided to put him back in Pri 5.
Mrs Chin Wai Peng, the principal of Xishan Primary, said in an e-mail reply that when the school interviewed Iskandar and his guardian in June for admission, it considered his level of motivation to learn and his aunt's assurance of providing a stable home and emotional environment for him.
She said: "Xishan Primary offered Iskandar a place in a foundation level course at Pri 5, which is slightly above the Pri 3 level of achievement that Iskandar had attained at Marsiling Primary."
Iskandar ended up passing his year-end foundation mother tongue exam, scoring 55 per cent.
He credited his turnaround to two of his aunts who have been looking after him since the start of this year.
Housewife Serimah Norjakin, 48, took him into her three-room flat at Yishun and ferries him to and from school every day.
Another aunt, housewife Zaiton Mohamed Noor, 50, visits him every day during the school term and supervises his schoolwork.
His aunts, both of whom are married with at least three children each, don't allow him to leave the house without their permission.
Earlier this month, BSS gave him a special award for "tremendous improvement in his studies".
Said BSS executive director Gerard Ee: "Iskandar must have felt very discouraged and embarrassed when he first found out he was demoted.
"It's admirable that he managed to get over this initial embarrassment to focus on his studies. His school and family stood by him, and I think that made the greatest difference."
Iskandar will go on to Pri 6 next year, according to his family and Mr Yet.
An MOE spokesman said: "Our schools seek to provide opportunities for every child to reach his full potential, through differentiation in the pace and structure of learning...We empathise with Iskandar's situation and our schools have tried various ways to help Iskandar both academically and emotionally.
"MOE and Xishan Primary will continue to support him wherever possible."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Boy's roller-coaster ride in primary school
BENSON ANG | The New Paper | Sun Dec 26 2010
He'll go to Pri 6 after several promotions and a demotion.
MUHAMMAD Iskandar Abdul Razak's primary school life has been played out like a game of snakes and ladders.
He was demoted from Primary 5 to Pri 2 and then promoted to Pri 3, Pri 5 and Pri 6 - all in less than two years.
He was demoted from Pri 5 to Pri 2 last year after his school discovered he could neither read nor write.
But when he was transferred to a new school earlier this year, hewas promoted back to Pri 5.
And, despite the odds, he managed to pass one of his subjects - foundation mother tongue - at Primary 5 and is now promoted to Pri 6.
Iskandar, now 12, already had difficulty with his schoolwork when he entered Pri 1 in 2005.
Yet, he found his way to Pri 5. It is not clear how he got that far as his previous school, Marsiling Primary, did not answer The New Paper on Sunday's queries.
When contacted, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said it does not have a system for demoting pupils and does not keep track of how many are demoted each year.
But the ministry spokesman added that schools would place pupils at levels suitable for them.
The social worker handling Iskandar's case, Mr Yet Tun Hoong, from Beyond Social Services (BSS), said Iskandar's parents were not active in his upbringing, and he used to live with an aunt in Ang Mo Kio.
The playful boy would often skip school to wander the streets. His aunt could not provide him with proper supervision because she had financial problems.
He ended up missing so much school that he could not even read and write despite being in Pri 5. So Marsiling Primary demoted him to Pri 2 in July last year, Mr Yet said.
Marsiling Primary principal Lee-Koh Siew Cheng told The New Paper on Sunday via e-mail that Iskandar's attendance was very irregular due to his family situation.
She said: "At Pri 5, he struggled with his studies and was unable to catch up with his school work. After several months of observation and assessment, the school decided to allow him to learn at a less demanding level."
Greater motivation
She added that at Pri 2, Iskandar started re-learning and was showing greater motivation in his studies.
He was active in group discussions and showed leadership qualities. His confidence also grew with the encouragement of his teachers.
Mrs Lee-Koh said Iskandar was promoted to Pri 3 this year. She did not explain why he was promoted over the years, given his results and family situation.
She also did not say if the school could have detected his problems earlier.
Iskandar told The New Paper on Sunday last week he was "disappointed" when he was first demoted.
"I felt like I was not as good as my classmates (who were in Pri 5). Some of them called me 'stupid', so I call them 'stupid' back," he said.
But he grew to like Pri 2. Because he was older, his new classmates looked up to him. He also liked getting up later. Pri 1 and 2 pupils are in the afternoon session.
Still, he would sometimes skip school. He also failed English, maths and mother tongue exams.
This year, he moved in with another aunt, who lives at Yishun Street 21, and transferred to Xishan Primary.
Xishan Primary decided to put him back in Pri 5.
Mrs Chin Wai Peng, the principal of Xishan Primary, said in an e-mail reply that when the school interviewed Iskandar and his guardian in June for admission, it considered his level of motivation to learn and his aunt's assurance of providing a stable home and emotional environment for him.
She said: "Xishan Primary offered Iskandar a place in a foundation level course at Pri 5, which is slightly above the Pri 3 level of achievement that Iskandar had attained at Marsiling Primary."
Iskandar ended up passing his year-end foundation mother tongue exam, scoring 55 per cent.
He credited his turnaround to two of his aunts who have been looking after him since the start of this year.
Housewife Serimah Norjakin, 48, took him into her three-room flat at Yishun and ferries him to and from school every day.
Another aunt, housewife Zaiton Mohamed Noor, 50, visits him every day during the school term and supervises his schoolwork.
His aunts, both of whom are married with at least three children each, don't allow him to leave the house without their permission.
Earlier this month, BSS gave him a special award for "tremendous improvement in his studies".
Said BSS executive director Gerard Ee: "Iskandar must have felt very discouraged and embarrassed when he first found out he was demoted.
"It's admirable that he managed to get over this initial embarrassment to focus on his studies. His school and family stood by him, and I think that made the greatest difference."
Iskandar will go on to Pri 6 next year, according to his family and Mr Yet.
An MOE spokesman said: "Our schools seek to provide opportunities for every child to reach his full potential, through differentiation in the pace and structure of learning...We empathise with Iskandar's situation and our schools have tried various ways to help Iskandar both academically and emotionally.
"MOE and Xishan Primary will continue to support him wherever possible."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
