Schools with no streaming, and with ten years of through-train
education without the Primary School Leaving Examination - that was
a proposal Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC) floated on
Tuesday, in an adjournment motion at the end of Parliament's
sitting.
She suggested that a pilot cluster of such schools be set up, in a
speech which touched on the future of education - for instance, the
rise of online academies - and current challenges such as the
thriving tuition industry.
Among other things, her proposed pilot schools would encourage
interaction of students from different socio-economic backgrounds,
abilities, race and religion, "not excessively assess their
students through competitive tests", and make special efforts to
help the disadvantaged, such as having longer school days or
providing computers and school meals.
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said he would give her proposal
"serious consideration," but added: "I should also caution that
having debated many of these issues in my ministry, there are
significant policy and implementation issues that we would have to
consider."
Ms Phua's proposal should also be set in the context of many
changes that the MOE is currently rolling out, he said. These
include changes to the PSLE system, a renewed focus on values, and
more flexibility for Normal stream students.
"Pacing and prioritisation are critical, and we are, at this point,
rolling out a series of very important horizontal innovations,"
said Mr Heng. Pacing was one of the five principles of innovation
which he had laid out in his response to Ms Phua
ST