Tag Archives: HENG SWEE KEAT

During the prayer sessions, special attention was always given to the Mother Tongue Language teachers because, as I was told, this group of teachers was the most resistant when it came to accepting the Christian faith.

WHEN I had lunch with two secondary school teachers recently, I was taken aback when both admitted they did not read newspapers. The Straits Times was not part of their daily reading diet, and they were ignorant of the Forum pages. I had expected these teachers of English and literature to take a keener interest in what was happening around them, so that they could disseminate more informed knowledge and wisdom to their students.

Starting from Academic Year 2014, freshmen can automatically exclude up to six courses for Grade Point Average (GPA) computation, if they do not attain a pass for their first attempt in their first year. They will retake the exams for those exempted courses and the grade for the second attempt will then be used to compute the student’s GPA. These changes was made to ease the freshmen’s transition into university.

CLAIMING that a needy student needed to borrow money, a former secondary school teacher tricked one of his students into handing over $4,000. But the needy student never existed, and the man took the money for himself. Low Yiming was yesterday jailed for four months for cheating his former student on three occasions in 2011.

I applaud Education Minister Heng Swee Keat’s call for open acceptance, or at least measured tolerance, of a multifaceted Singapore society (“Reach out beyond main races here”; Tuesday). One cannot ignore the fact that our city-state will only grow more diverse and more engaged with the world as we strive to maintain our competitive edge. Lest foreign talent and investors are spooked, we should heed the call for an open mindset that better ties in with our First World economy status.

My daughter is in Primary 6 this year. She already has 4 tutors for English, Math, Science and Chinese. She has 2 lessons with them each week, which takes up a lot of her time, and a lot of our family time together. Every weekday evening, she has to sit in for tuition classes after dinner, so by the time she finishes tuition, it’s already 9pm. She still has to do her homework for the next day, so by the time we get her to bed, it’s around 10 plus or 11 o’clock. And to think she has to be in school by 7.30am! I’m writing in because I’m not happy that our education system has forced our children into this kind of tuition culture.

Due to the abrupt change in government policies, he was not invited to apply for Singapore PR upon graduation as was the norm in the past. Mr Weng is desperate to obtain a Singapore PR so that he can marry his long-time girlfriend and buy a resale HDB flat in Singapore. Singapore PR is a prized ‘catch’ for many foreigners working in Singapore not only because it helps them to find a well-paying job, they are able to use it to purchase a resale HDB flat which they can monetize eventually for a hefty profit after they leave Singapore.

My daughter is still not considered “up to standard” in school, and her teachers are concerned over her results. What more can I, as a mother, do? Send her for more tuition? I would school her myself, but I don’t think I am capable enough. I’m writing in because I’m not happy that our education system has forced our children into this kind of tuition culture. It is causing them a lot of stress, and it is causing us parents a lot of money, and stress, and worry.

To qualify for Phase 2B priority, community leaders in the Residents’ Committee, Neighbourhood Committee, Citizen’s Consultative Committee, Community Club Management Committee and the Community Development Council have to serve actively for at least one year prior to the P1 registration exercise. Most of the community leaders serve more than the minimum period, and they continue to serve even after their children had gained admission into the school.

A self-proclaimed Singapore girl put up an advertisement on a local portal offering sexual services at $80 ‘per shot’ as she needs money for her school fees. Besides putting her vital statistics online, she also revealed that she ‘welcomes’ all races. Having paid sex with girls under 18 years of age is a crime in Singapore and clients are advised to check their Identity Card to verify their age first before proceeding with the deal.