Hi there,
It is a very valid question to ask. Using hindsight, you can see in the past 20 years, with the emphasis on creating a KBE, the only way to create a workforce from our population organically, was to have a very rigourous education system where every individual would be exposed to the same topics from the beginning, while streaming the individuals in terms of their mental aptitude. Smarter individuals were grouped together (EM1, Special Stream, GEP), the middle ground (EM2, Express Stream) and the lower range (EM3, ITE).
Now looking at the current situation, where almost all of Singapore's youths and the generations to come, will be highly educated, have we as a country changed our charting forward? At the expense of creating a highly knowledgable workforce, most skilled labour (technical in nature), has been neglected as they are small industries within Singapore. We are still focusing our views towards highly skilled jobs, so that we may be competitive as a country.
IMHO, for us to succeed as a nation, increasing our survivability outside of tourism and finance, we will need to create more job sectors that can compete on the global scene. It's a sad truth, that our children would have to go through the rigours of the system, and be subjected to the mental anguish. What the best we can do, is provide a conducive environment, where results are not the key determinant, but the journey that counts the most.
Hi there,
It is a very valid question to ask. Using hindsight, you can see in the past 20 years, with the emphasis on creating a KBE, the only way to create a workforce from our population organically, was to have a very rigourous education system where every individual would be exposed to the same topics from the beginning, while streaming the individuals in terms of their mental aptitude. Smarter individuals were grouped together (EM1, Special Stream, GEP), the middle ground (EM2, Express Stream) and the lower range (EM3, ITE).
Now looking at the current situation, where almost all of Singapore's youths and the generations to come, will be highly educated, have we as a country changed our charting forward? At the expense of creating a highly knowledgable workforce, most skilled labour (technical in nature), has been neglected as they are small industries within Singapore. We are still focusing our views towards highly skilled jobs, so that we may be competitive as a country.
IMHO, for us to succeed as a nation, increasing our survivability outside of tourism and finance, we will need to create more job sectors that can compete on the global scene. It's a sad truth, that our children would have to go through the rigours of the system, and be subjected to the mental anguish. What the best we can do, is provide a conducive environment, where results are not the key determinant, but the journey that counts the most.