Singapore’s superb education system firing blanks

The revelation that 12 year olds are being sent for leadership training like Tanjong Katong Primary offers a glimpse of how intensive, comprehesive and extensive our children are being educated and trained to be useful adults and leaders of tomorrow. And Tanjong Katong is not even a top elite school. You can imagine what those children would be put through in the top schools? Our education system is about producing the best students not only academically but also holistically, wholesome, all rounded in the arts and humanities, sports and yes leadership, and everything you want in a person that is as close to a superman or superwoman. They are going to the champions in life. This is how thorough and impressive our education system is designed and programmed to be.

No one can doubt the quality and how expensive our nurseries and kindergartens are, with the best teachers and facilities. Our primary and secondary schools are the best there is, and our world best universities. The products from such an expensive education system have to be the best or the bestest.

Compare to what our students are exposed to and those from the 3^rd world education system, it is like comparing heaven and hell. Could any of the 3^rd world education system offer what we are offering to our students? Not by your wildest imagination. We are the best, no such thing as second best. Look at the risk the primary schools are putting the children through, climbing mountains, travelling round the world, to learn and be educated. Some even lost their lives in the process of pursuing the best education money can buy. The students of 3^rd world countries don’t even have the chance to leave their little villages, no mobile phones, computer systems and all the modern day gadgetry.

What happens when come to adulthood and employment? The 3^rd world creeps are here dismissing our graduates as dull, daft, not creative, lazy and no skills set. On the contrary the 3^rd world village graduates are the best, talented, clever, innovative and creative and have all the skills sets needed to be top management material.

Is this not puzzling?  Would I be wrong to assume that the products of our superb education system must be the most sought after by the employers? They are all trained to be the best, some even perished at 12 in the pursuit of excellence. Isn’t that so? We can’t be spending so much money and indulging in adventurism to produce useless duds can we?

Let me give you a dose of reality. Our world class education system graduates should count themselves lucky if they are even hired and to work under these 3^rd world creeps. The more unlucky ones could even be working under 3^rd world fakes and cheats that may not even qualify for their 3^rd world average universities or have no degrees at all.

And what do you know? Our world class graduates would not know the difference and would accept when told that they are daft and useless by the fakes and cheats and the 3^rd world average university graduates. Despite all the great training and education, they could not think or question why they were no good or no better than 3^rd world fakes and cheats. Many even think the fakes are really better than them. They would not dare challenge the creeps telling them that they are NG, have no doubts that the creep could be a fake or a substandard product from substandard universities. How could first world metropolitan city folks be conned and cheated by 3^rd world fakes is simply mystifying. And till today, no one bothers to do a stock check to rid the country of all the fakes and cheats and choose to pretend there is no such problem.

Why do we put our students through such a complex and mind sapping education system to be the best only to become unthinking duds, knows nothing and don’t even have any common sense or survival skills? They don’t even believe in themselves and in the fact that they have gone through the best and most expensive education system in the world.

Actually cannot blame them. The most sickening thing is that even our so called worldly wise adults do not have faith in our local talents from our world best system. Everyday, every moment they will cry for more foreign talents. This is now second nature to them. If you don’t believe, just wait for any top management position to fall vacant and see what they would do? They would not bother to look for another Singaporean and would not hesitate to get a foreign search agency to look for a foreigner that they presumed must be a talent, better than a Singaporean. They would go for the unknown foreigners and would not question their certifications, degrees and diplomas and testimonials. They believe the foreigners are all honest and talented people that would not lie or cheat.

And we are ploughing so much money and so much hope in our world best education system to produce supermen and superwomen only to turn out misfits, no skills set graduates, or at best unthinking robots fit only to be taxi drivers.

At 12 years old they are already selected and trained to be leaders. At 18 they are no longer good enough for anything. By the time they get into the job market, they are unemployable, worst than 3^rd world fakes and cheats.

There is hope but also a confirmation that our education system has failed. They have realized that the products of our superb education system are not good enough and are looking forward to train them to be top management material in 30 years time.  How are they going to train and educate them I dunno?  The 12 year old climbing mountain programme is part of the superb system that churned out duds. If they don’t change the system that produced duds and washouts, in 30 years time would the products still be the same as today?

 

George Yeo – Reversal of economic trends

I was reading George Yeo’s observation of the bigger economic trends in the region. It took just about one generation for the economic trend to go one full circle and for the trend to be reversed. Rewind the clock to 1980, Singapore was at its peak in manufacturing and looking for a qualitative change in its economy, from labour intensive manufacturing and low wage economy to high value added and high wage economy. Remember knowledge based economy(KBE)? China was opening up and needed all the jobs it could get, low skills, low wages were all gratefully welcomed by China to create jobs for a hungry economy. Singapore was happy to transfer the low wage manufacturing industries to China and China was grateful for it. MNCs also moved and we hollowed out our manufacturing economy.

Just past 30 years, today a new trend is emerging. China has grown so much that it is thinking and planning to move up the skills level to high value added industries. China is planning to move out its low skill labour intensive manufacturing industries to Southeast Asia! What, what?  And the countries in the region will be benefitting from the relocation of low skill manufacturing back to the region. China is moving up the economic ladder to provide higher skill and higher paying jobs. It is returning the low skill and low wage industries and jobs to the region.

Singapore is going to be a beneficiary too. We are so well prepared to absorb all the low skill and low wage jobs once again. Now you know why we need 6.9m and then 10m population. We have topped up our labour force with plenty of low skill labour hungry for any jobs and any pay. Singapore can become a low skill manufacturing hub once more with plentiful of cheap labour available. China would be most happy and generous to return the favour.

Singapore could look forward to a new phase of low skill manufacturing activities. We don’t have enough cheap labour then, today we have plenty of them. If this is not enough can always import more workers from the region. 10m should be a good number to start with to cater for the manufacturing boom coming our way. 

Singapore is going to get a new lease of life as a low skill manufacturing hub and more economic growth.

Mount Kinabalu or kena balu – Any lesson learnt?

Mount Kinabalu or kena balu – Any lesson learnt?

Kinabalu or kena balu, is going to be a big lesson for many people. The survivors learnt a very painful and frightening lesson for being saved from the jaws of death. The victims did not live to retell the lessons they have learnt. Their parents would have to live a life time with a void in their lives and must have regretted letting their precious children to take up the challenge. They have to bear with the painful longing for a child that should be still with them but no longer.

I would not want to comment whether the MOE and the teachers have learnt anything. From some comments in the media, obviously many have not learnt anything and are clamouring for more children to take up this challenge to prove they could be better children when it was totally unnecessary at this tender age.

The only sensible people that have learnt something are the wise ones in the Malaysian govt in Sabah. They could see the danger and the ridiculous nature of 12 year olds climbing Kinabalu.  For what?  They did not think the climb was suitable to their more rugged children. But our city folks disagree and think our children are fit to take up the challenge and that this is a good thing. There is a saying ‘die’ also dunno how to write. City folks are cleverer?

All I can say is ‘to each his own’. Those who think this is a good outing to mould their children to be better adults, to become leaders over a weekend, please do as you please. The MOE, the principals and teachers who also agree that this is a good and exciting thing for 12 year olds, please do as you please and organize more trips.

Parents please think doubly hard on the value and the risk involved and decide yourself what is best for your children’s good. Yes, you decide. It is your child and you have to live with your decision for whatever outcome.

Intelligence cannot substitute for wisdom. Wisdom is often acquired from painful lessons experienced by self or by learning from events like this. The daft will never learn.

Kena balu tau.

PS. You don't need another earthquake to create a downpour of stones and rocks. Any severe weather could turn the mountain into a treacherous obstacle course.

Grabtaxi – another hell in the making

A taxi driver called Ah Tan posted a Grabtaxi application form in TRE and highlighted that application is open to foreigners. This is his short post,

 

‘My primary concern is why even “foreigners” are allowed to apply to be grabcar driver. This Driver Apps similar to Uber X is employing “Foreign Trash” to run parallel private car services as opposed to Taxi Co, PA, PB plate drivers…

Most of the PMET already downgrade to become taxi drivers and now these “FT” will very soon eliminate us for good…..

I lost hope of writing to “authorities” and our “MSM” and that’s why I write to you people here.

Can anyone in the community help to highlight and investigate these issues?

Thank you very much and hope to see more beautifully written articles published by anyone in this community as I am just another dropout from school.’

 Ah Tan the Taxi Driver

Ah Tan is concerned about the PMETs losing their jobs in this protected vocation once it is open to the foreigners. What is more serious is the unknown devil in the foreigners. Are we going to let these unknown unknowns drive our wives, girl friends and children and be at their mercy? The thought of them being driven around by psychopath and sex fiends is unimaginable.

This is a highly dangerous development and must be killed immediately. I hope this is not the case and the govt must not be caught sleeping and allow this to happen.

Protect our citizens and our loved ones. I know many are in love with foreign shit. And this is the type of foreign shit that we don’t need. This is definitely not foreign talent that the govt is talking about. Foreigners driving taxis is unacceptable. Period.

The people must demand that the govt put a stop to this. The govt must respond to this matter urgently to inform the people if this is happening and what the govt is going to do about it. This is a matter of national, personal and social security. We cannot afford to have foreign unknown elements participating in this vocation.

Lui Tuck Yew, the ball is in your court and an immediate respond is warranted. What is the situation?

Malaysian authorities considers barring Mt Kinabalu to climbers below 15

‘Meanwhile, the Malay Mail reported today (9 Jun) [Link] that Sabah is considering only allowing children aged above 15 years to climb Mt Kinabalu in the wake of recent tragedy involving primary school children.

State education director Datuk Jame Alip said he had spoken about the matter to state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, who is also the state executive councillor in charge of education.

“We will bring it up in our next meeting. For me, 15 years seems like a more reasonable age,” he said, adding that he was extremely saddened by the deaths of the school children from Tanjong Katong Primary School.’

The above was part of an article posted in the TRE. I think this decision by the Malaysian authority is going to make many Singaporean parents very upset. From comments by parents reported in the main media, they are all for their children climbing Mount Kinabalu. The trip will bring a lot of good to the children, leadership training, survival skills, have a good understanding of nature and mountain and a lot of other goods that a 12 year old can learn.

I hope Malaysia would seriously consider banning those below 15 year old from climbing Mount Kinabalu. But maybe no problem really, if cannot go to Mount Kinabalu they can go to climb Mount Everest or Mount Kilimanjaro. Singaporean children are very adventurous and their parents are all for mountain climbing to help them grow up as well rounded individuals.

Malaysia must be prepared for a petition from Singaporean parents pleading  to allow 12 year old Singaporean children to climb this easy mountain. The mountain is suitable to our children to climb.

Ok don’t get me wrong. I am just expressing the sentiments and desire of those Singaporean parents who think climbing Mount Kinabalu is a piece of cake for 12 years old. I dunno about the rest, but I would not allow my 12 year olds to climb that mountain. And if anyone would ask me for a second opinion, my answer is a NO. I may be an exception, kiasu and kiasi. I really admire those brave parents and their exceptional children that would definitely turn out to be better adults after climbing the mountain.  

All of us have many mountains to climb in life but this is a mountain that I rather choose to miss, or at least would not recommend young children to climb. Would the school principals and teachers think that this is necessary and would want to bear the full responsibility if something like this happens again?

And if there is a petition to ask the Malaysian govt to drop the idea of banning children below 15, I would not be a signatory for sure. I rather be safe than be sorry.  I would actually say a word of thanks to the Malaysian govt for the ban as it is a responsible thing to do. Never mind if there are parents that still want their children to climb mountains and would not mind sending them to the Himalayas or Tanzania. That is their choice.