My exp with Singapore education system :
- World-class curriculum and student support ... but only for
specific subjects. eg maths, science related. Support for arts
subjects is still pretty third-world.
- Decidedly high cost of tertiary education for locals, for all the
government's stance on how important it is
- Highly segregated, from different streams to what I call the
great big poly and uni class divide.
- Does not cater to late bloomers
- The difference between teaching methods and material in SAP
schools are vastly different to those in government schools (I
compared notes with my siblings.. I was shocked at how different
their homework / tests were compared to mine for the same
year/subject)
- students threatened, forced to drop CCAs / less "valuable"
subjects (even if you clearly excel at them) if they are not very
good at an unrelated, but more "valuable" subject
- Fickle with new methods/ideas (pertaining to curriculum and
teaching). These are introduced with a bang whether or not they've
been planned thoroughly enough, afterwhich they are neglected and
expected to float on their own.. few years later they're dropped at
the drop of a hat due to less than desirable results (the only
obvious outcome of a lack of planning beforehand and support
afterwards).. we end up with many "guinea pig" batches of students
(eg GEP, IP.. special/express stream etc) who're basically the ones
who lose out
- students encouraged to be "creative" and to get involved in
extra-curricular activities... but students are not given the room
to do so.. and they're sometimes even penalised for it! (eg
students are asked to paraphrase, but when a student *does* do a
good job of paraphrasing, she gets marked down because the teacher
herself cannot recognize the same points in different words - yes,
this happened to me many times)
- teachers only spoonfeeding students textbook information.. always
emphasizing "don't try to be smart, just follow the book and then u
can score well"... not entertaining requests for further
explanation either due to time constraints or own lack of knowledge
(related to afore-mentioned point)
My exp with Australian education system :
- Simple, flexible, non-judgmental and relaxed pre-university
curriculum that's hard to fail but also hard to excel at. Many say
there is a lack of focus and guidance - it does not adequately
prepare its students for the leap to University standards.
- curriculum and teaching methods are pretty much uniform
throughout schools in each state.
- However, the above allows for students to really explore into
their own interests/develop a real passion and in many cases
actually force the students to look forward to learning more so
they can stay competitive, instead of dreading school like in
Singapore. Typical Australian student: "It's my passion, that's why
I must excel in it".. Typical Singaporean student: "Die die cannot
lose. Huh? Simi passion. All A1, be can liao!"
- Tertiary education is very different from pre-university
education, both in terms of system and competitiveness. It is much
more difficult and many subjects have high entrance requirements.
Post-VCE, many students are caught by surprise.
- Pre-university: you may face a few instances of racist crap but
in fairly strong doses.. even if you clearly demonstrate superior
linguistic abilities and are articulate to a fault, if you don't
act almost exactly like an Aussie, you'll be treated like a
stranger.. you'll feel the barrier. There'll be a handful of
small-town morons who will shun you / discriminate against you
(sometimes even teachers) / continue to talk to you in a
condescending tone / deliberately slow pace (well.. now you know
how minorities/PRC in Singapore feel).
- As an International student, you should never expect to have more
privileges than a local (and if you ask for it, they will tell it
to your face). You typically pay 3-5 times more than local students
in terms of course fees (not taking into account any additional
govt subsidies these students may have)
- In Singapore, students can call their teachers on their mobile
phones in the middle of the night if they encounter problems, say,
while studying for "tomorrow's" difficult paper. In Australia,
that's called harassment. 
- You are not being "rude" or "trying to be smart/funny" if you
correct a teacher during class (politely), giving long and
well-articulated answers, or give creative input, and in the event
that you disagree with how a teacher marked your creative work, you
can appeal to the school to have different teachers review those
marks without fear of backlash 
- Teachers don't spoonfeed. Students have alot of freedom with how
they want to use their time, and nagging from teachers is minimal,
so the curriculum/course may seem relaxed... although it is not. As
I said, it's easy to pass.. but not to excel.. because this is not
about how well you regurgitate information, and no one will hold
your hand. Many Asian/Singaporean students are not used to this.
While they can may do relatively well in VCE, they often struggle
in University.
