Do more for teachers
I REFER to the articles, 'Next step for schools' and 'Need to rebalance school system: Eng Hen' (Aug 15).
I read with eager anticipation to see if there were indeed any groundbreaking changes. To my disappointment, there was nothing really new in terms of changes to the four sacred cows of our education system.
Dr Ng Eng Hen did not outline how the Ministry of Education (MOE) would do that. I suggest teachers be paid much more than what they currently get and that they focus solely on teaching and student development. All administrative work should be done by school workers employed to do just that. Each class would have different teachers teaching different subjects they specialise in. For example, English teachers teach only English, while an admin assistant takes care of non-teaching matters for each class or a few classes.
With more teachers, class sizes can be shrunk to about 20 students per class. This will ensure that more attention can be paid to weaker children, while the teacher will have more time to explore a topic being studied and inspire children even more.
The cost of education will probably increase but if we really want quality, parents should be prepared to pay more. Moreover, with the great number of students here having private tuition, which can add up to at least $1,000 per month, this indicates that affordability may not be a great issue. Instead of putting all that money into tuition, parents should think about paying school teachers more.
Parents and students, and even educators, should wean themselves off the culture of tuition dependency. The only reason parents pile on tuition is because they do not have confidence in school teachers and are anxious their children are not paid close attention. I suggest MOE take the bold step of banning tuition agencies and tutors altogether if it really wants full credit for the success of the education system. Former tutors who are good at teaching can then consider becoming full-time teachers as teaching will be more attractive with better pay and perks. With more qualified teachers doing what they love most, in time, parents will learn to trust teachers and build good relationships with them to nurture their children holistically. Students will also find school more meaningful, absorbing and relevant to their needs.
Josephine Koh (Mdm)
I REFER to the articles, 'Next step for schools' and 'Need to rebalance school system: Eng Hen' (Aug 15).
I read with eager anticipation to see if there were indeed any groundbreaking changes. To my disappointment, there was nothing really new in terms of changes to the four sacred cows of our education system.
Dr Ng Eng Hen did not outline how the Ministry of Education (MOE) would do that. I suggest teachers be paid much more than what they currently get and that they focus solely on teaching and student development. All administrative work should be done by school workers employed to do just that. Each class would have different teachers teaching different subjects they specialise in. For example, English teachers teach only English, while an admin assistant takes care of non-teaching matters for each class or a few classes.
With more teachers, class sizes can be shrunk to about 20 students per class. This will ensure that more attention can be paid to weaker children, while the teacher will have more time to explore a topic being studied and inspire children even more.
The cost of education will probably increase but if we really want quality, parents should be prepared to pay more. Moreover, with the great number of students here having private tuition, which can add up to at least $1,000 per month, this indicates that affordability may not be a great issue. Instead of putting all that money into tuition, parents should think about paying school teachers more.
Parents and students, and even educators, should wean themselves off the culture of tuition dependency. The only reason parents pile on tuition is because they do not have confidence in school teachers and are anxious their children are not paid close attention. I suggest MOE take the bold step of banning tuition agencies and tutors altogether if it really wants full credit for the success of the education system. Former tutors who are good at teaching can then consider becoming full-time teachers as teaching will be more attractive with better pay and perks. With more qualified teachers doing what they love most, in time, parents will learn to trust teachers and build good relationships with them to nurture their children holistically. Students will also find school more meaningful, absorbing and relevant to their needs.
Josephine Koh (Mdm)
