Ethnic groups' academic performance steady for past
decade: MOE
SINGAPORE : The Education Ministry has released its annual
report on the academic performance of Singapore's three main ethnic
groups - and it has shown that performance figures have held steady
for the past decade.
Singapore's primary school students have generally done
well for the PSLE in the last 10 years, with pass rates above 90
per cent.
Most have no problem with English or their mother tongue, with at
least 94 per cent of Chinese, Malays and Indians earning at least a
C grade.
But Maths remains the archilles' heel of many Malay students. In
2008, only 56.3 per cent scored at least a C, compared to the
national average of 83.1 per cent. It was also down from 10 years
ago, when 63.4 per cent of Malay students got the same grade.
Across the board, the number of O-level passes have gone up since
1999, with Malays seeing the biggest jump - from 49 per cent to 59
per cent in 2008. But overall, they continue to lag behind the
national average.
Neither has the gap significantly narrowed between Malay students
and other ethnic groups. This is despite continual efforts of the
Malay community to reach out to students. Some observers said one
reason is broken families.
Abdul Halim Kader, president, Taman Bacaan, said: "If you do not
address this issue properly, it will continue to affect the
educational performance of the Malay students, especially at the
lower educational levels."
Educators said the lack of family support can also undermine
efforts to help kids with their grades.
Clifford Chua, principal, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School,
said: "Many of the areas are focused on looking at children and how
they are doing in school, how they are performing in school, what
are their needs.
"Perhaps now we should shift our attention and look at parents,
struggling parents, and how we can help them to work with their
children and help them take ownership of their children's
education."
Mr Chua said that even though there are programmes for parents, the
challenge is to get them to participate.
- CNA/ms