<![CDATA[Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings]]>Dear all


I am leaving this forum of my own volition. My apologies for my recent threads on SG vs UK education. All education systems are great.

Be happy, healthy and may your God go with you.


To Chiefkiasu please review my PM to you and action accordingly.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/82760/singapore-tops-biggest-global-education-rankingsRSS for NodeTue, 09 Jun 2026 05:13:38 GMTWed, 20 May 2015 15:23:16 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 07:15:52 GMT]]>

iRabbit:
Oops, sorry. I don't mean that education in the UK is no good. It has to be really good to have converted your initial apprehension into fervent support and I respect that.


I've friends who lived in the UK. They told me the education there is on par with the health care. So I guess the health care in UK is pretty solid too.
Oops sorry I was not offended. I was just qualifying that our system is so good that I am humble at its orchestration and deployment.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507364https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507364Sat, 16 May 2015 07:15:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 07:07:55 GMT]]>Oops, sorry. I don’t mean that education in the UK is no good. It has to be really good to have converted your initial apprehension into fervent support and I respect that.


I’ve friends who lived in the UK. They told me the education there is on par with the health care. So I guess the health care in UK is pretty solid too.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507356https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507356Sat, 16 May 2015 07:07:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 06:30:09 GMT]]>

iRabbit:
ChiefKiasu:

[quote=\"iRabbit\"]But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:


:rotflmao: It's in today's papers. Front page even. I guess it's ok to apply the rules discriminately if you make the rules.

sushi88:
iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

😂 A result of hasty decision puts this in a joke book.

Can tell labbit is still a bit sore 😂 , not that his son is even remotely near the top scorers. Just don't agree with the principles behind it.

Alas, discussions have drifted to whether the good standings were due to tuitions. Does it matter? Tuitions seen at this scale were only prevalent in the last 10 yrs or so, and I suspect only at primary level. Those were 15 yr old being tested. And I doubt sec sch students have that much disposable time to go for many tuitions anyway.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether Singapore is placed 1st, 2nd or last compared to the other Asian countries known for having a tuition culture. What I find significant was the progress made in the last 50 years or so. Tuition or no tuition, we caught up and surpassed the more established countries, for instance the UK, for Math and Sci; at least at the sec sch level.

That alone speaks volumes.[/quote]Not sure I agree with your last sentence in your penultimate paragraph. Asian countries follow a rote education, and the OECD exams are rote. Interestingly, I sat my o levels in the early 80s. Children, now, in the UK cover a lot of the subjects, that I learnt at 14, 15 and 16 from age 9. You need to see our KS1, KS2 papers to see what is tested at Primary. It combines minimal rote with free thinking across a broad expanse of subjects.

As for KS3, most start learning their GCSEs at age 12 to 13. Again, they cover same topics as earlier years but the nuances and interpretative qualities of the questisons posed become more sophisticated. At KS4 our GCSEs require much more analytical thinking than O Levels of old. At KS5, I am staggered at my niece's A Level Papers in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Pure/Applied Maths. They cover much more than I did, in terms of breadth and depth. She is off to study Dentistry in the autumn should she make her grades.

It is true that SG and Asia have done exceedingly well in education. So have we, certainly since the introduction of the National Curriculum in the late 80s. I started off as a heavy detractor of UK education, as I valued a rote based system. I subsequently realised that I was wrong, and am so humble and grateful at the free and high quality education afforded to us in the UK. The litmus test results are proved in the vast numbers of Brits attaining exec level position in companies, locally and internationally.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507323https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507323Sat, 16 May 2015 06:30:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:29:37 GMT]]>Congratulations to Singapore and Asia for doing well!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507286https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507286Sat, 16 May 2015 04:29:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:07:47 GMT]]>

iRabbit:
Nebbermind:

[quote=\"iRabbit\"]But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:


But almost everyone has to take national exams. Not so for sports or other competition.

Meaning to say? :scratchhead:

Oic, so if not everyone takes part in a competition, then it's okay to advertise and celebrate.

C'mon that's just a red herring. How many contestants should not change the principle behind it.[/quote]Taking the exams is not really an option but joining a competition is.

In any case, education is not about competing...well, ok...not everyone think that way.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507279https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507279Sat, 16 May 2015 04:07:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 03:13:24 GMT]]>

Nebbermind:
iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:


But almost everyone has to take national exams. Not so for sports or other competition.

Meaning to say? :scratchhead:

Oic, so if not everyone takes part in a competition, then it's okay to advertise and celebrate.

C'mon that's just a red herring. How many contestants should not change the principle behind it.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507265https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507265Sat, 16 May 2015 03:13:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 03:03:22 GMT]]>

iRabbit:
But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

But almost everyone has to take national exams. Not so for sports or other competition.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507261https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507261Sat, 16 May 2015 03:03:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Sat, 16 May 2015 01:42:54 GMT]]>

ChiefKiasu:
iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:


:rotflmao: It's in today's papers. Front page even. I guess it's ok to apply the rules discriminately if you make the rules.

sushi88:
iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

😂 A result of hasty decision puts this in a joke book.

Can tell labbit is still a bit sore 😂 , not that his son is even remotely near the top scorers. Just don't agree with the principles behind it.

Alas, discussions have drifted to whether the good standings were due to tuitions. Does it matter? Tuitions seen at this scale were only prevalent in the last 10 yrs or so, and I suspect only at primary level. Those were 15 yr old being tested. And I doubt sec sch students have that much disposable time to go for many tuitions anyway.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether Singapore is placed 1st, 2nd or last compared to the other Asian countries known for having a tuition culture. What I find significant was the progress made in the last 50 years or so. Tuition or no tuition, we caught up and surpassed the more established countries, for instance the UK, for Math and Sci; at least at the sec sch level.

That alone speaks volumes.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507235https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1507235Sat, 16 May 2015 01:42:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Fri, 15 May 2015 07:18:47 GMT]]>

optimistforum:


I wish our spending was a so high, but you are woefully wrong. I used UK Dept of Education Report 2013.
I do an apple to apple comparison by taking the overall educational budget divided by the overall number of students in both countries. Unless I get the budget wrong or the number of students wrong, otherwise, I would think that by this count, the spending for both countries is in the same order of magnitude.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506866https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506866Fri, 15 May 2015 07:18:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Fri, 15 May 2015 05:55:01 GMT]]>

lee_yl:
optimistforum:

Lee_yl


For a city state one billion dollars is a lot. It occurs to me that the $1bn spent has provided a synergistic benefit

Btw the government average spend per child in England is SG $12K, whereas in SG it is SG $21k, according to the SG MOE Education Stats for 2014. It assumes 473375 students across primary, secondary, mixed level and junior colleges. So with a $10 bn investment that equates to $21k per student. This rises to $23k a head when the $1bn tutoring is included. I am envious with the investment afforded your pupils, as it is an investment in the future.

If you use the same yard stick to have a fair comparison, the figures for UK are comparable. The education budget for UK is around £95bil (say, $190bil) and the number of primary and secondary pupils in UK is around 8.3 mil which comes up to $23k per student. In fact, in terms of GDP spending on education, UK's figure at 6% is almost 2 times higher than SG's at 3.4%.

I wish our spending was a so high, but you are woefully wrong. I used UK Dept of Education Report 2013.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506819https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506819Fri, 15 May 2015 05:55:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Fri, 15 May 2015 03:06:50 GMT]]>

doodbug:
This report ranks Singapore 1st for Maths & Science. Perhaps if we are to include the Languages and Humanities, the results may be a bit different.


As far as Maths & Science goes, the schooling syllabus does impart a fair bit of knowledge. However as far as deep and sustained achievements in Maths & Science go, (not just talking about Nobel Laureates) such as deep industrial capabilities in technology etc, we are not quite err, number one.

I don't dispute the Global Education Ranking, but we also need to understand the limitation of it 🙂
I am trying hard to understand the value of this ranking for Singaporeans in terms of wealth creation mentioned in the report.

Is it
1. supposed to let potential employers know that Singapore has a pool of educated employees they can tap from? (but most senior positions, we still need to rely on foreign talent....we always complain we do not have enough top brains? So how does this report help? :? )

2. supposed to assume we can nurture more entrepreneurs? (From historical records, highly successful entrepreneurs are not the most educated.... So how does this report help? :? )

3. supposed to attract more people to flock to Singapore for the perceived top global education here? (Bingo...this one is probably the real money spinner for us...)

Any other ideas of long term wealth creation for us based on this report?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506701https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506701Fri, 15 May 2015 03:06:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Fri, 15 May 2015 00:47:22 GMT]]>This report ranks Singapore 1st for Maths & Science. Perhaps if we are to include the Languages and Humanities, the results may be a bit different.


As far as Maths & Science goes, the schooling syllabus does impart a fair bit of knowledge. However as far as deep and sustained achievements in Maths & Science go, (not just talking about Nobel Laureates) such as deep industrial capabilities in technology etc, we are not quite err, number one.

I don't dispute the Global Education Ranking, but we also need to understand the limitation of it 🙂

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506597https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506597Fri, 15 May 2015 00:47:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 23:25:25 GMT]]>

optimistforum:
Lee_yl


For a city state one billion dollars is a lot. It occurs to me that the $1bn spent has provided a synergistic benefit

Btw the government average spend per child in England is SG $12K, whereas in SG it is SG $21k, according to the SG MOE Education Stats for 2014. It assumes 473375 students across primary, secondary, mixed level and junior colleges. So with a $10 bn investment that equates to $21k per student. This rises to $23k a head when the $1bn tutoring is included. I am envious with the investment afforded your pupils, as it is an investment in the future.
If you use the same yard stick to have a fair comparison, the figures for UK are comparable. The education budget for UK is around £95bil (say, $190bil) and the number of primary and secondary pupils in UK is around 8.3 mil which comes up to $23k per student. In fact, in terms of GDP spending on education, UK's figure at 6% is almost 2 times higher than SG's at 3.4%.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506555https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506555Thu, 14 May 2015 23:25:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 16:04:53 GMT]]>Lee_yl


For a city state one billion dollars is a lot. It occurs to me that the $1bn spent has provided a synergistic benefit

Btw the government average spend per child in England is SG $12K, whereas in SG it is SG $21k, according to the SG MOE Education Stats for 2014. It assumes 473375 students across primary, secondary, mixed level and junior colleges. So with a $10 bn investment that equates to $21k per student. This rises to $23k a head when the $1bn tutoring is included. I am envious with the investment afforded your pupils, as it is an investment in the future.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506488https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506488Thu, 14 May 2015 16:04:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 15:58:03 GMT]]>

optimistforum:


All but about 12 of the books are retained at home. The rest were binned. Infact, I have spent thousands on books from SG, UK, USA, South Korea, Canada, India and Australia. Negativity about SG books is because of the thousands spent, a vast majority of the books were found to be dross.

I think your education system is great. SG schools + plus a lot of SG Tutoring = Great Results. We hear politicians, in the UK, highlight SG a schools as a beacon of great practice. They may well be good, but your results are down to tutors....for the umpteenth time of saying.

I shall shortly provide this forum with a cornucopia of URLs to good practices, and books - particularly from the UK. I think forum members are loathe to share good practices.
It is simplistic to attribute the strengths of SG educational system to tutors. Do a simple analysis from the resources allocation perspective, the SG government spends about $11bil a year on education and parents spend an additional $1bil a year in tuition. Does it mean that an additional outlay of 10% is enough to turn in stellar results? If the magical formula is so easy, all countries should just invest that additional 10% to see a sharp improvement in their respective educational system!

The reality is more complex than that. SG educational system has gotten some things right and you can find informative articles from the following links

http://www.economist.com/node/9989914

http://www.smhc-cpre.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/how-the-worlds-best-performing-school-systems-come-out-on-top-sept-072.pdf

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506483https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506483Thu, 14 May 2015 15:58:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 15:07:47 GMT]]>

lee_yl:
optimistforum:

[quote=\"janet88\"]it is not fair to imply that all kids need tuition because school teachers are not doing their job....for weaker kids, how can parents expect the teacher to zoom in and personally coach?


true, parents send kids to school...but they cannot expect one-way traffic. for those parents who are able to coach their kids in school work, I guess they would...but not every parent can do so...so that's why we have tuition.

my daughter has caring and responsible teachers.

Where did I write that all SG kids need tuition. Please show me where I stated that. I merely mentioned that SG results have been inflated by tutors. Take them away would the aggregated scores of schools be so high.

There won't be a difference simply because there's a strong cultural belief in pursuing academic excellence. Academic excellence to many is an end by itself. Additionally, the high social status accorded to teachers further entrenches the respect for learning.

It is ironical that someone who spends so much on SG textbooks is so negative about the SG educational system.[/quote]All but about 12 of the books are retained at home. The rest were binned. Infact, I have spent thousands on books from SG, UK, USA, South Korea, Canada, India and Australia. Negativity about SG books is because of the thousands spent, a vast majority of the books were found to be dross.

I think your education system is great. SG schools + plus a lot of SG Tutoring = Great Results. We hear politicians, in the UK, highlight SG schools as a beacon of great practice. They may well be good, but your results are down to tutors....for the umpteenth time of saying.

I shall shortly provide this forum with further cornucopia of URLs to good practices, and books - particularly from the UK. I think forum members are loathe to share good practices.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506434https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506434Thu, 14 May 2015 15:07:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 15:03:23 GMT]]>Asian parents put a great emphasis on education…be it Singapore or korea.


Optimistforum does buy quite a fair number of assessment books meant for Singapore when the kids are not studying here.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506428https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506428Thu, 14 May 2015 15:03:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 14:53:31 GMT]]>

optimistforum:
janet88:

it is not fair to imply that all kids need tuition because school teachers are not doing their job....for weaker kids, how can parents expect the teacher to zoom in and personally coach?


true, parents send kids to school...but they cannot expect one-way traffic. for those parents who are able to coach their kids in school work, I guess they would...but not every parent can do so...so that's why we have tuition.

my daughter has caring and responsible teachers.

Where did I write that all SG kids need tuition. Please show me where I stated that. I merely mentioned that SG results have been inflated by tutors. Take them away would the aggregated scores of schools be so high.

There won't be a difference simply because there's a strong cultural belief in pursuing academic excellence. Academic excellence to many is an end by itself. Additionally, the high social status accorded to teachers further entrenches the respect for learning.

It is ironical that someone who spends so much on SG textbooks is so negative about the SG educational system.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506415https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506415Thu, 14 May 2015 14:53:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 14:21:49 GMT]]>I am not judging you on level of tuition. I am merely stating, yet again, that tutoring is an endemic part of SG schooling, and that if you took that away then that leaves what is provided by your schools. You have to admit that your out of hours tutors are positively subsidising the grades of your schools.


I am off to pick up my UK Y5 (or SP P4) son from his school now, before he starts on his Prep for his exams - UK Year 7 Maths, UK Year 8 problem Solving, SG S2 vocabulary, UK Year 9 Synonyms and Antonyms, Inference Comprehension and Cloze Tests

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506387https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506387Thu, 14 May 2015 14:21:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 14:11:46 GMT]]>actually not just the weak students have tuition…many who are in top classes do have tuition too.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506375https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506375Thu, 14 May 2015 14:11:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 14:03:10 GMT]]>There’s nothing wrong with out of school tuition. But take that away in SG, would your aggregated scores be so high.


Ps how many junior schools and senior schools in your city state.

Pps, the Asian emphasis on education is warming and laudable. Education is a precursor to social mobility and aspiration.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506370https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506370Thu, 14 May 2015 14:03:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 13:58:13 GMT]]>

optimistforum:
janet88:

it is not fair to imply that all kids need tuition because school teachers are not doing their job....for weaker kids, how can parents expect the teacher to zoom in and personally coach?


true, parents send kids to school...but they cannot expect one-way traffic. for those parents who are able to coach their kids in school work, I guess they would...but not every parent can do so...so that's why we have tuition.

my daughter has caring and responsible teachers.

Where did I write that all SG kids need tuition. Please show me where I stated that. I merely mentioned that SG results have been inflated by tutors. Take them away would the aggregated scores of schools be so high.

I am not sure if tuition is prevalent in Japan, but for Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, many of their students also have tuition, some even attend more tuition than Singapore students. One way of looking at it could be that Asian parents place a lot of emphasis on education. It doesn't really matter where the credit goes to, as long as the children receive a good education.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506357https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506357Thu, 14 May 2015 13:58:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings on Thu, 14 May 2015 13:45:18 GMT]]>

janet88:
it is not fair to imply that all kids need tuition because school teachers are not doing their job....for weaker kids, how can parents expect the teacher to zoom in and personally coach?


true, parents send kids to school...but they cannot expect one-way traffic. for those parents who are able to coach their kids in school work, I guess they would...but not every parent can do so...so that's why we have tuition.

my daughter has caring and responsible teachers.
Where did I write that all SG kids need tuition. Please show me where I stated that. I merely mentioned that SG results have been inflated by tutors. Take them away would the aggregated scores of schools be so high.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506349https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1506349Thu, 14 May 2015 13:45:18 GMT