SINGAPORE: A popular tuition centre near my home charges S$1,000 a month to prepare children for the Gifted Education Programme’s (GEP) maths syllabus.
The centre boasts a high admission rate to the GEP, if parents are willing to dish out S$12,000 a year in tuition fees.
It seems ironic to send a child for GEP prep courses - if a child were gifted, he or she would not need coaching to qualify for the programme.
But the reality is that many Singapore parents are conscientious and competitive in seeking the best outcomes for their children. Parents with more resources can afford tutors to help their children gain entry into the “best” programmes.
It is no wonder that fewer than half of GEP students live in HDB flats, according to a written parliamentary reply by Education Minister Chan Chun Sing in 2022.
As a parent, I’m relieved that the GEP is being phased out in its current form, and more importantly, replaced by a new model for high-ability students in all primary schools.
The GEP revamp signals a shift in policy. Rather than taxpayer-funded resources flowing to a small minority of students, those resources could be spread out to benefit more students across all primary schools.
The primary schools’ new high-ability programmes will broaden inclusivity from “gifted” children to “high-ability” children. About 10 per cent of the primary school cohort will be selected for the high-ability programmes, up from the GEP’s current 1 per cent.
MORE SOCIAL MIXING IN A FAMILIAR ENVIRONMENTThe problem with the old GEP is that gifted students have to transfer from their original school to one that offers the programme. This separates them from the friends and teachers they have bonded with.
In a 2005 survey, former GEP students admitted that they preferred to associate only with each other, felt ostracised by their peers and struggled to relate to non-GEP students.
In line with the nation’s objectives to encourage more mixing across social classes and discourage elitism, the Ministry of Education (MOE) decided in 2008 that one-third to half of GEP students’ curriculum time would be spent with non-GEP students.
School-based high-ability programmes could take this a step further. Students could learn alongside like-minded peers while staying connected with old friends. Remaining part of a community they’re familiar with may give higher-ability learners more opportunities to interact with students of different backgrounds.
The option for higher-ability students to take after-school modules, where they can meet peers from other schools with similar interests, is another chance for them to form new relationships. Students also learn more difficult concepts in an enrichment format, without undue pressure from unnecessary tests and exams to dampen the joy of learning.
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Snap Insight: Conceived for a minority of students, Gifted Education Programme has been overtaken by wider trends LEVELLING THE PLAYING GROUND ACROSS PRIMARY SCHOOLSCurrently, there are nine primary schools that offer the Gifted Education Programme. These are hotly sought after schools, and are often among the most oversubscribed schools at each year’s Primary 1 registration exercise.
Many parents I know would move homes so as to live within 1km of a primary school that offers the GEP. Their perception is that if the school is good enough to host a GEP cohort, it must be good even for non-GEP students.
This creates a tier of schools perceived to be “better” than schools that do not have the GEP model. It also leads to more competition for slots at the Primary 1 registration exercise, which inevitably results in more disappointment when students are turned away.
MOE said it will draw on the expertise of the nine GEP primary schools to develop higher-ability learners, and to deploy teachers from those schools to support the after-school modules. This would give higher-ability students in neighbourhood schools the same access as those in “top” oversubscribed schools to a robust enrichment syllabus.
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Commentary: Voices of tensions behind the 'kiasu parent' label The revamp of the GEP is an important step towards levelling the playing ground across all primary schools. As Albert Einstein wrote, “Valuable achievement can sprout from human society only when it is sufficiently loosened to make possible the free development of an individual's abilities.”
Expanding access for high-ability students across all primary schools may also be a crucial step in convincing conscientious and competitive Singaporean parents that every school is indeed a good enough school, whether it is a brand-name school or a neighbourhood school.
In a 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey by the Prime Minister’s Office Strategy Group, 49 per cent of married respondents said the stress of raising children is a top reason for not wanting kids, or any more kids. Putting children through the education system no doubt contributes to the stress of child-rearing in Singapore.
The dismantling of distinctions between GEP and non-GEP schools may persuade some Singaporean parents that they do not need to move near a popular primary school for their child’s sake. It reassures them that the education system is less elitist than they perceive, and perhaps contributes to their willingness to have children.
The broadening of GEP may also convince competitive Singaporean parents that their child can get an education tailored to their needs, whether at a neighbourhood school or a popular school.
Lara Tung, a mother of two, is a freelance writer who runs a personal finance and parenting website.