PM Lawrence Wong's NDR - Education Portions

[doodbug]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/ndr-2024-gifted-education-programme-to-be-updated-all-primary-schools-to-stretch-high-ability-pupils

Heheh I am surprised this topic hasn’t cropped up in KSP

Please share your views!

Any thoughts on the updating of the GEP programme?

I thought I caught something along the lines also of possibly more kids being admitted to secondary school via ballot - seems to be the case at AL8 now as quite a few schools / programmes have COP at AL8.

[zac's mum]

@doodbug I watched the NDR on TV together with DS last night & we had fun discussing about LW’s Malay, Mandarin & English accent haha.

Here is the full transcript:

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2024

The context of what you heard (regarding more balloting into secondary schools) is this:

“For example, we have done away with the T-score and changed the PSLE scoring system.

That means students are no longer graded on a curve.

They are assessed based on their own performance, and not how they compare against their peers.

If you master the materials and meet the standard, you will do well.

If others meet the standard, they will do well too.

And if more students get similar good PSLE results, we should all celebrate! Because it means our students are doing better.

And over time, more posting outcomes to secondary schools will be determined by ballot.”

So…it is not a prediction or any new change being announced per se. It was simply his comment on an expected outcome of this new PSLE AL system.

As for GEP…i have no comments wahahahahaha. Hearsay on xiaohongshu the parents are wailing in grief lol.

[skii]

@zac-s-mum

your comments on XHS
like GEP became their playground already lo

[zac's mum]

@skii like everywhere is their playground liao. Oops…where is the old ksp “runaway” emoji ah…

[skii]

@zac-s-mum

not saying if its good or bad

but without these group of very hungry parents, our kids will be in a more comfortable environment (that is unlike the cut throat real world)

so with them around, many kids of theirs’s being 2nd gen SG citizen, i think everyone benefits

[Imp75]

It does sound like no more structured centralised GEP program anymore. I welcome it as good news. There’s too much hothousing to kids at such young age.

[bbbay]

@skii

Instead of thinking our only option is to join the exact same race, the child should also learn to find each of their own niche?

Spore doesn’t compete in being the lowest cost (cannot compete with emerging countries) nor compete to be the most innovative (US/Japan). We find a niche for ourselves.

[doodbug]

Our kids are exposed to kids of PRC and other Asian countries in all our schools. MOE controls the numbers across the schools and has always opened places in our local schools for foreign kids, in a measured way. This to prevent enclaves forming in selected schools, and to promote integration.

As far as admissions to local universities go, IS are subject to tougher entry criteria than SCs and SPRs. The IS student numbers are also controlled, as reported in parliament.

I am not sure how GEP looks like now, though I do hear some parents who seem to have an observed that there seems to be increasingly, more non-Singaporean kids in GEP. Perhaps GEP parents can share?

I have to say kudos to PM and the 4G - they have touched/culled many education sacred cows - including GEP! Mix form classes in Secondary Schools was to me, a good move too.

Parents will always have preferences as far as primary schools go. But this move to remove GEP will help to ‘control’ the desirability of the 9 schools and to reduce the gap between them and the other primary schools. Who knows, maybe kids from less coveted primary schools may have more opportunities to be sent for the pull out programmes at the regional centres.

[skii]

@bbbay said in PM Lawrence Wong's NDR - Education Portions:

of thinking our only option is to join the exact same race, the child should also learn to find each of their own niche

i don’t set the entry requirement for the race leh…

immigration policy is beyond my understanding and control
hahahhahah

As parents, we can only assist to teach our kids how to navigate his/her race.

[skii]

@doodbug

its is very difficult to tell
everyone speaks with an accent - let alone looking largely “asian” similar.
(unless you meet their parents during class gathering…)

Also, many of the kids’ parents are naturalized Singaporean.
Their kids (our kids’ classmates) born in SG… boys going to NS in a few years time
i don’t even know how to classify them.

and even if MOE has the big data, I don’t think its will be available to us for gossip sessions.