Deep Dive Podcast: National Day Rally 2024 - Big shifts in key areas
Changes made to the Gifted Education Programme would mean that schools need to be given adequate resources so that more students can benefit, say guests.
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CNA's weekly news podcast takes a deep dive into issues that people talk about at dining tables and along the office corridors. Hosted by Steven Chia and Crispina Robert.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sketched out his government's priorities in his first National Rally address, with a focus on parents, education and housing. Do the announcements show a significant shift towards a different kind of Singapore?
SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan and Assistant Professor Elvin Ong from the political science department at NUS give their assessment.
Here's an excerpt from the conversation:Â
Eugene Tan:
Someone did quip that we now have (Gifted Education Programme) streaming at the highest level, right? Because everyone wants to be streamed into this high ability program. And whether (it will) result in more competition because students or parents will say, you should try to get into this ...
Crispina Robert:
But I think it's a good thing. (Of) the things that was announced at the rally, I thought this was really quite something, because it's been around for so long.
(Previously) they are funneled based on all the subjects, like they have to be good at everything, they have to be smart at everything. Whereas now ...
Steven Chia:Â
You can be stupid in some things?
Crispina Robert:Â Â
Yes, they could be great at English and not so good in Math, yeah, and they would be in the high ability English class.Â
Steven Chia:Â
And it should be, because if you love music, you're really good at it, by all means go for it.Â
Crispina Robert:
(So) PM Wong says it's not just policy and policy only goes so far. The main thing is the mindset change, right? I'm sure we all agree on that. But really, how long would that take?
Steven Chia:
To change mindsets? Wow.Â
Eugene Tan:Â Â
It could take a generation even, right? But we need to make a start somewhere. We need to get it moving, because we need to reduce the pressures in our schools.Â
National exams shouldn't be about an arms race. People shouldn't see it as being a high stakes exam, and it's really about learning at a pace that's comfortable for you.
As parents, we all know that children bloom and blossom at different ages, and there shouldn't be one exam that defines you for life.Â
Elvin Ong:Â
I think it's also going to be alignment of various incentives and policies to gradually change people's behaviors and so called mindset to eventually get that cultural change. So you need to have all the incentives aligned in place.
