Having just returned from a 2-year teaching stint in Jakarta,
Indonesia, I noticed with interest how the educational system has
changed. In fact, when I was in Indonesia, I often had to field
many questions from parents and students on how the educational
system here compared with that in the better known schools there.
Quite often, the questions would turn into criticisms as they
compared the Singaporean system with the schools that purportedly
offer the Singaporean educational system.
Truth to say, many schools that have opened in Indonesia are
claiming to use the Singaporean curriculum. However, upon closer
scrutiny, most of them are just cashing in on the high standards
set in Singapore as their only basis for the claims are the
textbooks and assessment books used here. This has caused many of
their students to be disappointed and turn to other systems. Though
it is understood that the MOE has no way to regulate the way
overseas organisations advertise themselves, there should probably
be ways in which it can further disprove claims made by these
schools there other than just stating on its website that there is
only one international school which is affiliated. This is
important as parents who may be thinking of sending their children
here to study can be often put off by those whom they see as
affiliated to the Singaporean educational system.
With Singapore's focus to put itself on the global map as the
educational hub in Asia, it is of utmost importance to ensure that
its reputation is not sullied by schools both here as well as those
overseas.