Ong Ye Kung is not the first education minister, or the minister who wants to reduce stress for students.
I heard that spoken by Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Heng Swee Kiat.
I also heard the statement by PM Lee that he wants the students to "study less and learn more".
All these past efforts failed. Rather, they succeeded in a small degree, but did not make a major impact.
Can Ong Ye Kung do better?
I doubt it.
If the underlying problem is not address, all the new initiatives will not produce the desired outcome.
What is the underlying problem?
The government gives too much weight on scholars. Those who are selected as scholars are assured of an excellent career with a high salary. Most parents want their children to do their best and be a scholar.
This is the source of the stress.
For those who cannot be scholars, the parents will want them to be a good graduate. There is no future for those who do not have a degree. So, they have to get a degree from a public funded university or a private university.
Many students pursue a degree at the expense of a better and more suitable alternative. There are many jobs that do not require a degree and are in demand.
But the salary for these non-degree jobs are suppressed and are unattractive.
To solve this problem, the government has to increase the salaries of the jobs that do not require a degree. But they require skills and work experience. For example the jobs of nurses, bus drivers, technicians, cooks, service staff, etc.
If these jobs pay an adequate salary, many people will find them acceptable. They do not need to compete hard, and make a lot of sacrifice, just to get a degree.
For those who wants a degree to be "more educated", they can still pursue this goal after getting a well paying job that does not require a degree.
If we want to reduce the stress in education, we have to solve the underlying problem. We should give better prospects for non-degree jobs and for non-scholars.
Tan Kin Lian
I heard that spoken by Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Heng Swee Kiat.
I also heard the statement by PM Lee that he wants the students to "study less and learn more".
All these past efforts failed. Rather, they succeeded in a small degree, but did not make a major impact.
Can Ong Ye Kung do better?
I doubt it.
If the underlying problem is not address, all the new initiatives will not produce the desired outcome.
What is the underlying problem?
The government gives too much weight on scholars. Those who are selected as scholars are assured of an excellent career with a high salary. Most parents want their children to do their best and be a scholar.
This is the source of the stress.
For those who cannot be scholars, the parents will want them to be a good graduate. There is no future for those who do not have a degree. So, they have to get a degree from a public funded university or a private university.
Many students pursue a degree at the expense of a better and more suitable alternative. There are many jobs that do not require a degree and are in demand.
But the salary for these non-degree jobs are suppressed and are unattractive.
To solve this problem, the government has to increase the salaries of the jobs that do not require a degree. But they require skills and work experience. For example the jobs of nurses, bus drivers, technicians, cooks, service staff, etc.
If these jobs pay an adequate salary, many people will find them acceptable. They do not need to compete hard, and make a lot of sacrifice, just to get a degree.
For those who wants a degree to be "more educated", they can still pursue this goal after getting a well paying job that does not require a degree.
If we want to reduce the stress in education, we have to solve the underlying problem. We should give better prospects for non-degree jobs and for non-scholars.
Tan Kin Lian
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