Now that we have a new Education Minister, talk is that there will be more emphasis on values in the education system rather than just a focus on grades and 'technical' achievements. Besides this, there were also calls for more 'individualised' education rather than treating our kids as a 'collective'.
I think these sentiments will result in a worse education system than what we have now and a much worse one that the one that I had to go through growing up.
To me, it is a fundamental mistake on the part of Singaporeans, especially the younger liberal parents, to think that government should be involved in education beyond narrow technical domains.
Firstly, governments are, by definition, bureaucratic entities. There is, despite the best efforts of civil servants and politicians, no way around this fact when we throw in the checks and balances necessary to have a sound system in a democractic society. Therefore, to expect the government to deliver individualised education is like asking a fish to swim in sand. It is plainly ridiculous. But I don't blame the government for trying to meet such demands as I do the stupidity of people who think that what has always been, in human history, a parental responsibility should be abdicated to civil servants.
Let's face the facts. Look at how the average Singaporean student is basically incompetent in both English and mother tongue, and we can easily see that even in narrow technical domains, the system has failed to deliver. Can we realistically expect the system to deliver far more complex things like values and morality?
Secondly, the young liberal set have often complained about the lack of freedom in this country. My question is this: Why do you complain against alleged government oppression and then turn around to expect the SAME government to be benevolent with regard to teaching your children the right values? Again, it is to me sheer stupidity and an abdication of responsibility.
We ought to recognise what the government is good at, and constrain it to those areas. Education is too important to be left to the government. If we want our children to grow up right, we have to take back the task of educating them, and not leave them to civil servants who may or may not have their best interests in mind.
