Education is Residents' Top Concern

[Gee]

Really?

please share what is your TOP concern..

 

 

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Education is residents' top concern

Bukit Panjang residents say Singapore should not be a country of tuition teachers, in dialogue with Balakrishnan

by Tan Weizhen 04:45 AM Nov 19, 2012

 

 

SINGAPORE - More education options for slow learners or needy students, relook some schools' system of assigning the best teachers to the best classes, review teachers' workload.

 

These were just a few of the myriad of suggestions 108 residents raised at a National Conversation dialogue held at Bukit Panjang yesterday.

 

The residents had responded to an invitation by their Member of Parliament, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and it was evident education was among the issues that most concerned them. They also discussed issues on housing, transport and declining birth rates.

 

Most residents wanted many parts of the education system to be overhauled, from a nationalisation of pre-school education to a renewed focus on cultivating the love of learning in children. One group of residents did not want Singapore to be "a country of tuition teachers", and felt there were too many remedial or supplementary classes when it should be more targeted. Another group "pitied" teachers and said parents need to be educated against the pitfalls of placing too much emphasis on examinations. does this mean the definition of meritocracy need to be adjusted?

 

Dr Balakrishnan, who is Minister for Environment and Water Resources, agreed with the residents, saying that developing values and education are areas to think about, as children are being prepared to meet future challenges.

 

He said: "(The) PSLE is important