Sec 5 class advised: Go to ITE instead
Principal tells students that they are unlikely to do well at O levels
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
January 12, 2008
Author: Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent

CALL it a disheartening start to the new school year.

A group of 27 girls in a Secondary 5 class in a mission school - which shall remain unnamed - were advised by their principal on the first day of school last week to seek transfers to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), since they were unlikely to do well in the O levels this year.

To back her point, she even flashed the girls' detailed N-level grades on the board in class using an overhead projector; she also stressed that she wanted 100 per cent passes in her school.

The result: teens with punctured self-confidence and some fuming parents.

The girls, who had done well enough in last year's N-level examinations to get to Sec 5, were looking to repeat their good performance at the O levels this year and move on to the polytechnics.

Those with strong N-level results had a new option this year: They could have skipped Sec 5 and headed for higher-level technical courses at ITE, but the deadline for applications closed on Jan 2.

Five girls from the class confirmed the incident.

They have decided to stay on in the school, but if they choose to take their principal's advice, they can still apply for ITE courses starting in April.

The father of one of the five, describing the incident as 'totally defeating' for parents like him, said he and his wife had been motivating their daughter to aim to do well in the O levels this year.

'My daughter's self-esteem had gone up multiple levels just seeing her results and realising her hopes to attempt the O levels.

How are we to motivate our children to do better with second chances when there are principals who are so uncaring and unethical?'

His daughter said she is not considering a transfer to the ITE because she wants to go on to a polytechnic after Sec 5.

She added: 'It is very sad when your principal doesn't have faith in you and will not give you a chance.'

But having decided to stay on, she said she feels added pressure to do well: 'I feel quite nervous, and so do quite a few of my classmates.'

Another parent said that after the principal's talk, he had to do 'damage control' to convince his daughter that she stood a good chance of getting into a sports management course in a polytechnic.

A third parent, a mother, is considering writing to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Saying this was a result of school heads being too concerned with MOE's annual ranking of schools, she added: 'This is a mission school at that. Where's the compassion?'

She said she thought moves to weed out weaker students by urging them to drop difficult subjects were a thing of the past.

When annual ranking of secondary schools was introduced in 1992, some schools were reported to have pressed students to drop 'tougher' subjects such as Literature, in apparent attempts to protect or improve their rankings.

MOE has tweaked the system, taking fewer subjects into account.

About 60 per cent of Normal stream students who sit for the O levels do well enough to win places in the polytechnics.

Of the five girls who spoke to The Straits Times, only one defended her principal, saying she 'meant well'.

Said the teen: 'My class is a weak class. Some of the girls may be better off in the ITE.'

sandra@sph.com.sg

Copyright, 2008, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Wow...with immediate effect?

Principal's stance
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
January 12, 2008

THE school principal told The Straits Times yesterday she was merely trying to give her girls a 'wake-up call' when she spoke to them on the first day of school.

She confirmed that she had used an overhead projector to display the girls' results, but that it was to impress on them that they would have to work hard to qualify for a place in the polytechnics.

She said: 'It's a fact. If a student scored a Grade 4 or 5 for a subject in the N levels, she is unlikely to pass the subject in the O levels.'

N-level subjects are graded from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best grade.

The principal added: 'Some...who don't qualify for poly will end up in the ITE anyway, so they might as well go direct to the ITE.'

She confirmed that she told the girls she wanted 100 per cent passes in her school, but that what she meant was that she wanted all her girls to do well in the O levels - not that she did not want poor performers to tar the school's record or lower its ranking.

Noting that well over 80 per cent of her Normal stream students who sat for the O levels last year did well enough to qualify for the polytechnics, she added: 'But it takes a lot of hard work and the girls needed to know that.'

When given the principal's side of the story, two of the parents interviewed said that if all she wanted was to give the girls a wake-up call, she could have done it differently.

One parent said: 'I would have preferred it if she had called the parents in and given them the hard facts, instead of destroying the confidence of the girls.'

SANDRA DAVIE

Copyright, 2008, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Usual damage control crap.

Some mission schools are very religious in their belief in rankings. I've been there and seen it.

ji1 jiang4 fa3

Sg education system is too realistic….sad…

Such principal needs to be fired. Who the hell say sec 5 who don't do well cannot go poly. Even if they really can't, at least they never give up and are still trying.

Personally, I'm been through N-level (Yes, I'm a normal academic) and I have to say, O-level is not that difficult if u work hard for it.

Don't think that I'm boasting just because I made it to poly, i give u a personal experience.

I did badly for my mid year test and my prelim. I got 28+ for L1R4 due to me slacking off and goofing around the whole year.

But, after that I decided that it will be the end for me if I don't start studying, so I worked hard for 2 weeks (without slacking off) and manage to get a L1R4 of 14 and got into my dream course for poly.

So if a person work hard whole year round, there really no reason he would fail his O's.

Lucky or not for me, my main point is, school is a learning insituition, a place where students are encourage to learn. It's not a place where u demoralise students from learning.

I knew of a few Sec 5s given up by my school, and they're currently in grad school in America now.

Had an army mate who got a job in Canada with his NTC cert after ORD. Living there well too.

Lj, giving them wake up call.

School's nowadays only care about their name, not the students anymore.

Originally posted by stellazio:

Lj, giving them wake up call.

School's nowadays only care about their name, not the students anymore.

Precisely.

*digs around for 200k to send future kids to UWC*

Originally posted by furb:

Such principal needs to be fired. Who the hell say sec 5 who don't do well cannot go poly. Even if they really can't, at least they never give up and are still trying.

Personally, I'm been through N-level (Yes, I'm a normal academic) and I have to say, O-level is not that difficult if u work hard for it.

Don't think that I'm boasting just because I made it to poly, i give u a personal experience.

I did badly for my mid year test and my prelim. I got 28+ for L1R4 due to me slacking off and goofing around the whole year.

But, after that I decided that it will be the end for me if I don't start studying, so I worked hard for 2 weeks (without slacking off) and manage to get a L1R4 of 14 and got into my dream course for poly.

So if a person work hard whole year round, there really no reason he would fail his O's.

Lucky or not for me, my main point is, school is a learning insituition, a place where students are encourage to learn. It's not a place where u demoralise students from learning.

It depends on whether you (the students) want to work hard or just continue to slack.

I mean, face it, some students are just being too lazy to study and therefore, the results are just being "too beautiful" to straight to ITE.

Some how, i have to agree you that principal were just too... ..

Again, not everyone can made it to poly like you do.

Hope you don't get the wrong meaning.

Cheers.

I got U for Combine humanities for N level, and a B4 for O level.

Just put in all da effort and you can make the difference.

It's a mindset problem. If people don't have the impression that ITE is a second class education institute here, would they have been upset?

Going where to study doesn't matter. It only matters if you learn from your mates and teachers.

The principal is wrong, the parents are wrong, and so are the students. Including the writer who wrote this article.

I was from Normal Academic stream during my sec sch days. Did my N-Level with average results and went to sec 5 after that. Did my O-Level (average results as well) and managed to enter the Polytechnic studying my 1st choice course. Did well enough to be awarded the Certificate of Merit for my diploma.

Currently, i'm in NTU year 2 semester 2. It's definitely not the usual route taken by students.

What i'm trying to say is that one, especially an authoritive figure like a sch principle shouldn't discourage pupils frm going to sec5. The school should instead encourage all their students to go to sec5 and from there, identify those weaker students and gif them extra coaching so that they can go to a Poly or even a JC.

That's what a school supposed to do isn't it? Instead of discouraging Normal Acad students to go to sec5 so as to prevent them from pulling the school's ranking down.

That's a very selfish principal and i tink she doesn't understand the true responsibilties of being a school principal.

you cannot blame the principal ..... she's just a normal, sane, civil servant desperate to keep the key performance indicators on her yearly performance review up and the bonuses coming in ...

if the appraisal system is more personal and go for things like "number of sec 5 students who passed 0 levels and made it to poly" .... instead of "percentage improvements over last year's scores" ... and "number of ECA national awards achieved" .... perhaps things might have been different .....

Originally posted by LazerLordz:

I knew of a few Sec 5s given up by my school, and they're currently in grad school in America now.

Had an army mate who got a job in Canada with his NTC cert after ORD. Living there well too.

I heard that Singapore ITE is very good n their graduates with NTC or ITC are well sought after in Australia?

The principal might just meant well to the students, no point for them to waste another year without a full cert to even a poly and go to ite instead right?

in life, we can have all sorts encouragement but in the end we still have to be realistic.

i believe in pushing the students till then the end even tho their n lvl result might not make it. they are willing to study, why give them up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tc1522Zf90

Actually my principal said the same thing to my class in secondary school before. Missionary school as well. However to her chagrin , more than half the class ended up in poly or JC. Half of my classmates are actually graduates now.

So it's funny.

What's the most important role a principal should play in the school?

1. Focusing on testing and student test scores
2. Creating a safe and supportive school environment
3. Motivating students to do their best, especially to encourage students from lower-middle and low-income homes to do better.

I think 2 and 3 are more important than 1 if Singapore hopes to produce her own Nobel Laureate one day.

Originally posted by will4:

I heard that Singapore ITE is very good n their graduates with NTC or ITC are well sought after in Australia?

If your ITC/NTC (not sure which is the highest ITE qualification) is in a field that is in demand, and you have work experience, it helps in your application scores.

What nonsense is this!

i remember in my secondary school, my principal supports ITE and she told us not to be ashamed when we're there because she feels that ITE provides very good education.

we need more principals like the one i had.

Originally posted by ^tamago^:
[b]Principal's stance
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
January 12, 2008

She said: 'It's a fact. If a student scored a Grade 4 or 5 for a subject in the N levels, she is unlikely to pass the subject in the O levels.'

N-level subjects are graded from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best grade.

The principal added: 'Some...who don't qualify for poly will end up in the ITE anyway, so they might as well go direct to the ITE.'

She confirmed that she told the girls she wanted 100 per cent passes in her school, but that what she meant was that she wanted all her girls to do well in the O levels - not that she did not want poor performers to tar the school's record or lower its ranking.

Copyright, 2008, Singapore Press Holdings Limited[/b]

wow this principal seems to be in the wrong line. she should be in charge of qc in a factory since she is so efficient and decisive in picking out 'not-up-to-standard'.

The principal wants her CV to look good mah. Cannot blame her...