Lucky Cool Cats
and Singapore's Education System
by Kenneth Lyen
Lucky Cats Exhibition
To commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the founding of Singapore, Takashimaya Department Store is exhibiting 200 Lucky Cats specially designed by 200 Institute of Technical Education students. In addition, 14 students from the Little Arts Academy are bringing 20 selected Lucky Cats to life by using augmented reality. The high-tech event is to showcase the diversity, talent and potential of Singapore's youth. It will take place at Takashimaya Level 1 Atrium from 1st to 12th August 2019.
I am most impressed by the artwork of the students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE)!
Please see below for my further comments on the Singapore education system.
The Maneki-neko (Lucky) Cat
The Maneki-neko cat is a fortune cat and when it raises its left arm, it beckons one like saying "hello". And when it raises its right arm, this symbolises an invitation for good fortune and money. Traditionally it is a Japanese calico bobtail cat, and is often found at the entrance of shops, restaurants, salons, and other businesses.
It originated in 1633, during the feudal period of Japan, when one of the great lords, Ii Naotaka was caught in a rainstorm, and took shelter under a tree. He then noticed a cat sitting in an adjacent rundown shrine, beckoning him to come to the temple. Upon reaching the temple, a lightning bolt struck the very tree he was sitting under, causing it to explode and catch fire. Realising that the cat had saved his life, he began regularly donating money to the temple, which was later named the Gotokuji Temple, which was Naotaka's Buddhist name. The temple is now filled with beckoning cats, and so the tradition of maneki-neko was born.
Singapore’s Hierarchical Education System
Singapore’s education system has tended to be hierarchical, where students are separated into different categories. At the end of primary education, when students are around 11-12 years old, they take an exam called the Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE), which includes a test of intelligence. This determines which secondary institution the students can enter. The best secondary schools attract the highest PSLE scores.
The Ministry of Education is replacing current PSLE scores by wider scoring bands. Nevertheless this is still a form of streaming, albeit more diffused. Parents will still send their children to schools they perceive to have higher standards (see table above).
The Ministry of Education has also removed official streaming in secondary schools, and now segregate students according subject bands, the entry into post-secondary education is still hierarchical. Better schools will have a better chance of getting their students into junior colleges rather than polytechnics or institutes of technical education.
Most members of the general public would rank the following institutions as follows:
Best: Junior College (JC)
Better: Polytechnic
Good: Institute of Technical Education (ITE)
The ranking of ITE, polytechnics and junior colleges, is also demonstrated in real life by the percentage of graduates of these institutions being accepted by Singapore universities. Junior college graduates generally have the highest chance of getting a university place, followed by polytechnics, and lastly by the institutes of technical education. The latter is still regarded by the general public as vocational, as opposed to academic, education.
The Ministry of Education has recommended a less discriminatory streaming system, but it has an uphill task to remove public perception of which are the better schools and institution. This new system will be implemented from 2024:
Changes to the Secondary School System
I welcome the changes proposed by the Ministry of Education, although I think more can be done.
Singapore universities are also starting to change. In recent years, universities are accepting more graduates from polytechnics and institutes of technical education. Here are 3 recent examples featured in local newspapers:
Nicholas Chan
Nicholas Chan, 23, is the first Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduate to be accepted by the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He was a rebellious teenager, failed most of his subjects, dozed off during exams, and would skip classes to play computer games. He dropped out of Bishan Park Secondary School in his third year. Then something changed in him, and he decided to try for the O level exams as a private candidate. He had a strong desire to help others by becoming a nurse or doctor, and so applied for the nursing program at an ITE. He redeemed himself by doing well in the exams. This enabled him to apply to Nanyang Polytechnic, where he secured a place in their nursing school. He achieved a high grade point average of 3.91 out of 4. Unfortunately, his first application for medical school failed. But with determination, he applied again, and this time he was offered a place at the National University of Singapore medical school. It is rare for ITE students to gain entry into medical school, and it is through grit and determination that Nicholas succeeded.
Eric Ng
Eric Ng, 28, received his Master of Architecture certificate from President Halimah Yusof in 2019. The route was a long and arduous one. He only scored 94 points for his Primary School Leaving Exam which sent him to the lowest educational stream (EM3), followed by entering the "normal" technical stream in secondary school. This route led to entry into the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). He worked hard and achieved a perfect grade point average of 4 out of 4, which secured him a place at a polytechnic. There he studied architecture, but despite doing well and getting an excellent grade point average of 3.92 out of 4, he was rejected by two local universities. An appeal letter was written, and the National University of Singapore gave him an offer, conditional on his passing bridging modules in mathematics and architecture. He was successful and did well for his Bachelor of Architecture degree. This allowed him to progress to the postgraduate Master of Architecture degree.
Eric is a model of tenacity and perspicacity! He gives this piece of advice to others:
“Never let people define who you are, define your own path and who you are. Nevertheless, everything is possible through strong determination, hard work and effort.”
Mohammad Abdillah
Mohammad Abdillah, 25, failed his primary school leaving examination (PSLE) twice. He went on to study at Northlight School, a vocational institution. Abdillah told his teachers that his ambition was to become a designer, but he had doubts whether he could achieve his dream. The Northlight teachers inspired him to excel in his studies, and he went on to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to study animation. He then entered Nanyang Polytechnic, where he graduated in 2016 with a diploma in motion graphics. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cited him in his 2019 National Day Rally, and showed a montage of Abdillah's animation. The Prime Minister expressed his confidence that Mr Abdillah would be successful in his profession.
"To help more ITE students do better, the Education Ministry will introduce more pathways for them to upgrade themselves," the Prime Minister said. (Straits Times 19 August 2019)
FINAL WORDS
Different people have different timetables in their life’s journey. Some achieve academic success early on, while others take longer to achieve comparable success. The current school system tends to favour the early developers, especially those to score well in traditional academic subjects like language and mathematics. The late developers may have reasons for their earlier struggles. These include learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or they may be too absorbed by other activities such as sports or computer games, or they may be experiencing family or social problems. Hence, I believe that the Singapore educational system must be more enlightened, broad-mined, flexible, and tolerant. Allow children to progress at their own individual pace, and do not penalize them for being different.
Once again, congratulations to the students from the Institute of Education for their beautiful artwork. They are the Lucky Cats!
Kenneth Lyen
19 August 2019, Revised 21 May 2020
REFERENCES
Maneki neko Beckoning Good Things: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/maneki-neko/
Naotaka and Maneki neko: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii_Naotaka
Institute of Technology Education (ITE) is not as bad as you think. https://www.youth.sg/Our-Voice/Opinions/2018/7/ITE-is-not-as-bad-as-you-think
Lyen KR: Hello Kitty. Singapore Medical Association News: February 2000