Local Singaporean: Are our students overstressed and overworked?

By Stressed Singaporean Student

My name is Shawn Wongosari, a normal student in a Singapore public school. I personally wrote this letter concerning Singapore’s education system. This picture was taken in an MRT carriage, depicting a young girl doing what seems like revision for an examination or completion of homework.


This made me reflect on Singapore’s education system, about the criticisms it receives from many parents, saying that students are too stressed out. I wondered if the students in Singapore are really under pressure from debris or piles of homework, tests and examinations, or if our education system is genuinely ‘world-class’ comparable to ‘Swiss Standards” as the world regards it as.


Students should have less homework and tests and live lives like normal teenagers/children should instead of face-palming their faces on textbooks or assessment books.


Many people may regard me as unappreciative of Singapore’s education system through this message, but the truth is that while I am appreciative of the education I receive, I am free to generate feedback or complaints about the education system. I don’t mean to sound like an ungrateful brat of sorts , I just want the students of Singapore’s public schools to have an adjustable, stress-free and an enjoyable place to learn, not some place where they will keep whining : “Oh no, not more homework…” Some students may not express this fully on the outside, but I am pretty sure many feel stressed in the inside.


Are children in Singapore missing out on a more holistic education as well as a proper childhood?


This was reproduced with permission from editors of The Real Singapore.


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