Singapore Removes School Rankings, Says Learning is Not Competition

Singaporean Government thru the initiative of Education Minister Ong Ye Kung pushes on abolishing schools systematic rankings and says that education and learning is not all about competition.

Whoever finishes first or last, it doesn't matter anymore as long as they succeeded and learned things without feeling the threat of competition at school.

Ong said that students should not focus on making comparisons but to the learning and progress that they've received.

He reiterated that whatever assessments should not be counted to the overall grades of the student for them not to discourage, especially for primary level of education.

“I know that ‘coming in first or second’, in class or level, has traditionally been a proud recognition of a student’s achievement. But removing these indicators is for a good reason, so that the child understands from young that learning is not a competition, but a self-discipline they need to master for life." Ong said.

 However, the teachers will continue to teach and grade their students by using qualitative descriptors as bases.

“Notwithstanding, the report book should still contain some form of yardstick and information to allow students to judge their relative performance, and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.” He added.

Published by Mark Lester, Lucis Philippines