Summarized from Channel News Asia
06 March 2015
SINGAPORE — The perennial issue of students relying heavily on tuition was raised by several Members of Parliament today (March 6), as the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Education (MOE) began.
Mounbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan raised concerns of tuition becoming a “crutch” for students, such that they have “lost the skill of self-directed learning”.
Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC) noted the pervasiveness of the tuition industry, where even polytechnic students go for such extra classes. She felt that the education landscape is shaped by a system where students are primarily promoted by academic scores and assigned to schools based on results from high-stake exams.
Making suggestions to reduce the stress levels of education here, she called for the removal of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and to start a 10-year through-train school model. Among other things, she also called for specialised schools such as the Gifted or Special Assistance Plan schools to be done away and students of mixed abilities to be placed under one roof.
Mr Png Eng Huat (Aljunied GRC) also highlighted the huge amounts of money spent on tuition, even as the MOE has stated publicly that tuition is unnecessary. Mr Png asked for a public survey to be done to properly assess the tuition culture.