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He was a top student — a graduate of Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. His academic credentials include 10 A1s at the O Levels, as well as 4 As and an A1 for General Paper at the A Levels.
Among his accolades are several Prime Minister's Book Prizes for outstanding results in English and Malay, as well as the National Arts Council's prestigious Young Artist Award for literature and the Golden Point Award for poetry.
Yet, 29-year-old poet-playwright Alfian Sa'at is not fit to be a relief teacher in a secondary school.
He was told this by the Ministry of Education (MOE), about a month after he began teaching at a neighbourhood school in the east, and after he had been offered an extension of two months. Mr Sa'at says there were no complaints against him and one supervisor had said "professionally and pedagogically we had no problems with you".
Mr Sa'at then wrote to the MOE asking why his application as a relief teacher had been rejected.
In an email to Mr Sa'at, an assistant manager at the MOE's personnel department explained that the ministry "usually gives provisional approval due to the urgency of need at school level, pending further registration formalities". But on considering his application, the MOE decided to reject it.
Noting that MOE has "stringent criteria in the recruitment of relief teachers", the official added "we look at each applicant in view of the specific requirements of the ministry at the time, considering each application as a whole, on its own merit. While many capable candidates apply every year, only those that best meet the organisation's requirements will be considered for appointment."
Mr Sa'at has since blogged about his rejection, reproducing his correspondence with the MOE. Other portals and Internet forums have also picked up the controversy, attracting hundreds of postings.
Mr Sa'at, who quit medical school in his final year at the National University of Singapore to write full-time, says that his biggest grouse is that the ministry has not explained clearly what it looks for in a relief teacher and what might disqualify someone from the post.
He told TODAY: "I don't know whether that kind of academic record is a liability, for someone who didn't complete his degree."
Another theory he offered is that despite being described by some, including Minister of State (Education) Lui Tuck Yew as a published writer "who enjoys critical acclaim", his body of work includes plays that have been described as "anti-establishment". His next play, Happy Endings: Asian Boys Volume 3, continues his look at Singapore's gay culture.
Principals whom TODAY spoke to said they could not remember instances of relief teaching applications being rejected.
Mr Abdul Harris Sumadi, principal of Juying Secondary, said: "Unless they don't meet the educational qualifications, I don't think I've heard of problems with registration. It's really up to schools to decide if a person can serve their needs."
Echoing this Mrs Edelweiss Neo, principal of Dunman Secondary School, said: "If we find someone we want to hire, we tell them to register straightaway. But we can hire them first ... Schools are given a lot more autonomy to exercise our judgment."
- TODAY/so
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