13 March 2019
Parents have been generally supportive of the move by the Ministry of Education to end streaming in Singapore’s schools and replace it with subject-based banding.
Removing the labels associated with streaming can potentially remove the stigmatization that has long been associated with streaming, and change social mindsets for the better.
Parents have reflected on having undergone streaming themselves when they were studying, recounting how scary an experience it was for them, and the judgmental attitudes they faced if they got into the Normal Stream.
Mrs Reshma Alwani, a housewife, told the media that she welcomed the chance for her child to be in classrooms with those from other bands.
But she, like other parents, also had concerns, such as how schools decide when students get to move across subject bands. Another worry was what would happen to students who go to schools which offer mainly higher-level G3 subjects.