SINGAPORE – For the first time, no top students were named when the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results were released yesterday. However, the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) move to shift focus away from academic achievements did not stop many parents and others from focusing on the scores and which schools the top scorers came from, for instance.
While the schools fell in line – they fiercely guarded information on their top students from the packs of reporters – many parents were curious to get the information. Some asked their children or other parents, others went online to forums such as KiasuParents, which was rife with speculation on which school produced the top scorer.
Reporters also found themselves under closer scrutiny – with some schools assigning minders to watch over journalists who strayed from the pack or tried to interview parents. One school did not allow reporters to interview parents, while another barred them from entering the school hall when the results were announced.
Schools also changed the way they released the results: At Junyuan Primary, for instance, the school identified its top scorers but did not reveal their aggregate scores. Previously, it announced both the scores and the identities of the top students. At Raffles Girls’ Primary, the top 25 pupils were recognised at an assembly but no student was singled out.
While the identities of the top scorers were kept under wraps, the top aggregate PSLE score was disclosed in the result slips given to all students.
The media learnt that Nanyang Primary had a pupil whose score matched the nation’s top aggregate score of 285 – the student, however, was not among the two who were publicly singled out for their all-round performance among the Primary 6 students who gathered in the hall.
Earlier, the school had read out the names of the top 45 scorers, who all stood up to applause from their peers.
Nanyang Vice-Principal (Instructional programme) Steven Wong told TODAY that he singled out the two pupils because they exhibited non-academic qualities such as leadership, apart from their academic achievements. He said: “We are also signalling to parents not to focus only on academic outcomes and to value developing the child’s character as well.”
Parents TODAY spoke to felt that it is human nature to find out who were the top performers.
Questioning the information blackout on the identity of the top scorer, a parent, Ms Koh Su Chern, said: “The scores act like a yardstick and having a No 1 is inevitable in our meritocratic system.”
Another parent, Mr K K Soon, likened the practice to someone getting the President’s Scholarship award but not getting the public recognition.
Still, some parents supported the new practice. “It has become a pressure cooker for parents in recent years and it’s a relief to stick to my own child’s results and not bother about how others are doing,” said a parent who wanted to be known as Ms Nisha.
National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser described the MOE’s move as “an important symbolic gesture which signals that rethinking and possible changes are underway”.
On Facebook yesterday, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said that there were “broader considerations” to the MOE’s new practice.
“The change is not to address stress per se or to move away from merit … It is not possible, nor desirable, to eliminate stress completely … Nor should we be shy about achievements,” said Mr Heng.
He added: “PSLE is an important exam – but it is not the be-all-and-end-all … It marks the conclusion of one stage of the learning journey – and the road ahead is a long one.”
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also posted on his Facebook on the release of the PSLE results.
While he noted that “PSLE is an important exam”, Mr Lee said: “But PSLE is far from the only thing which counts.” He added that students must also develop strong moral values and a sense of duty to our families and nations, among other things.
“These are not in the PSLE syllabus, but they are important to a fulfilling and productive life,” said Mr Lee.