In recent months, there has been talk about “every school is a good school” and about what defines success. I’d thought I share my personal encounters as a Singapore student.
The epidemic of elitism in Singapore’s schools is deeply rooted. Elitism doesn’t just exist among different schools, it also exists within schools. I attended a neighborhood secondary school, but I was placed in the first express class, by virtue of my PSLE score.
From the very beginning, teachers would drill into our heads that we were somehow “superior” to other classes. Because of this, we were held to a higher standard and expected to be a good example to other classes. Everytime, we misbehaved or broke the school rules, our teachers would lecture us along the line of “You’re the first express class. You should be better than this.” I found this statement the be flawed. It’s wrong to assume that just because you had higher PSLE scores, you’re supposed to be more well behaved. By this logic, teachers had the tendency to be more cynical towards Normal Academic and Normal Tech classes. Their potential in Secondary school was limited from the very beginning just because of a single exam.
Only the top few percent of Normal stream students could promote to Express in time for O Levels. The school would use the ITE boogeyman to scare Express students into studying harder. The ITE term was thrown around as if it was something to be ashamed of. Admittedly, many Normal Tech students were demoralized by this label and this had a negative effect of their results. It’s been nearly 3 years since I graduated from Secondary school.
I’m currently a year 3 business student in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. But sad to say, elitism is still present to some extent. PSLE scores determined which secondary school you ended up in and O Level scores determined your tertiary institute/JC of choice. Naturally, some courses in Poly require lower O Level scores than others. There is still a sense of pride that borders on arrogance among some students, of having made it into the more “prestigious” courses. Hence, there is still a negative perception towards those in the easier-to-get-in courses like Nursing. I know a few friends from Nursing and contrary to perceptions, Nursing is NOT a low skilled course. Nursing students often have the heaviest assignments, the longest hours and the most exams and tests.
And having seen career nurses in hospitals, I can see that being a nurse is not an easy job by any standard. Nurses often work overtime, return on weekends and public holidays. Nurses have the life of their patients in their hands and often have to deal with angry patients, visiting relatives, all while maintaining their composure and patience. We have an epidemic of elitism in this country, and it starts from our education system.
I sincerely hope things will change in due time. The government’s efforts with #Aspire is a start, but not enough is being done. Our entire education system needs to be re-examined. If necessary, we should consider scrapping PSLE altogether. Your destiny should not be determined by a single exam you take when you’re 12. We should also consider eliminating parent’s affiliation as an advantage to get into elite schools. But beyond that, it also takes a shift in perception towards what is high/low skilled or what a respectable job is. Admittedly, this perceptual shift will take years to accrue results. But we can and we must start somewhere.
S Lim
*Article first appeared on http://ariffin-sha.com