During the MOE Workplan Seminar on 22 September, Minister of Education , Mr Heng Swee Keat, announced that that there will be two key emphases for the next stage of development. MOE aims to make our education system even more student-centric and there will be more focus on holistic education - centred on values and character development.
I was glad to read from the Minister's speech that he reiterated that CCAs are an integral part of education, to build character and provide holistic education. The intent of CCAs is "not to win medals per se, but to learn the value of excellence, teamwork and discipline; to be gracious in victory and resilient in defeat." I sincerely hope that all schools remember this intent well. Some of my ex-pupils did tell me about how they could only choose from certain non-competitive CCAs as those that they are interested in only accept pupils who can represent their school on a competitive level. Hence, it is heartening to hear the Minister mentioning that we should "increase our capacity to enable students to participate in recreational sports and other activities."
I also read with delight that MOE is going to remove the Sustained Achievement Awards (SAA). The rationale? It will "free up resources to allow schools to pursue achievements over a broader range of activities, in line with student-centric, holistic education."
The Minister also stated that award assessment will be conducted during the SEM external validation. Many teachers will definitely be saying, "Horray!" Gone are the days when schools need to apply for awards. This will definitely reduce the workload of teachers in preparing the paperwork so as to apply for awards. As an ex-teacher, I definitely applaud this change. This will mean that teachers can spend more time on student-centric activities instead of preparing the paperwork for the application of awards. In the past, a lot of man-hours were spent on preparing the paperwork for the application of awards. Some teachers become jaded and begin to question what their core job is. Is it to be involved in student-centric activities or to be playing the role of an administrator i.e. to prepare reports and evidence for award application?
It was also reported in the newspapers that very often, schools are seen hanging banners outside their school gates to inform the public about the awards that they have attained. Awards are given to recognise schools for their good programmes and systems. Hence, I believe that with the abovementioned change, the education system here will not become a mere chasing of awards by schools.
~ Serena's Greenhouse
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