Simi Uneducated?

Well.

Looks like I'm about to make a regular thing of this...at least for now. Being jobless and uneducated has its dubious perks.

A little explaination is in order I suppose, for the benefit of the hapless stumbler and Attractive Stranger who somehow ended up here. What do I mean, -Uneducated-?

For those uninitiated to the Uniquely Singapore-an education system, formal education in Singapore progresses thus:



Birth - Age 6:
In this day and age, children sadly tend to grow up on Television and Video Games, as opposed to to Books and Lego of yore. Parents wishing an early start in academia for their children often enrol them in Kindergarten courses. Various government and privately-run kindergarten/childcare centres exist on the island, all of them geared toward honing and developing young minds for the onset of greatness.


Ages 6 - 12:
Primary School, which is divided into 6 grades, appropriately named Primary 1 to 6. Students are groomed in the various disciplines of English Language, Native Tongue, Mathematics and Science at this level, with the more academically inclined students beings allowed options for advanced study in Native Language (Termed Higher Chinese, Higher Malay, etc) and basic Art and Music. At the end of Primary 6, students take a governmental examination known as the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) Via merit of their resultant grades, they then apply for and are allocated places in various Secondary Schools around the island. Exceptional students may also be hand-picked at mid-Primary levels to take a MENSA-type test involving advanced analysis of critical thought processes and many obscure patterns, the nuances of which are lost upon the common man. The really smart children, as evinced by their ability to pick out patterns and solves problems their parents cannot, will then be evaluated for entry to the Gifted Education Program (GEP). These children are then plucked mercilessly from their comfortable surroundings and re-instated into a Primary School specially geared to handle exceptionally smart children. They continue Primary School as normal, taking the same examination which most of them will ace with one hand tied behind their backs, and subsequently continue their privileged education in the Secondary chapter of the GEP.


Ages 13 - 16:
Secondary School, which is divided into 4 grades and similarly named. While one's Primary School is, for the better part, none of anybody's concern, Secondary Schools tend to be an entirely different matter. Some are simple, government-run public schools with taken-from-the-neighbourhood names like "Ang Mo Kio Secondary", for a school in Ang Mo Kio. At the other end of the spectrum are the branded Secondaries, which in general tend to be single-gender schools and hold track records of producing a better grade of student. It is a subject of much debate as to which school is the best, and indeed, competition at the top levels can be very intense. Generally, however, the Raffles Family is the direction loving parents pivot their children towards (and where said children had better end up, if they know what's good for them). Raffles Institution boasts the reputation of being founded by the nation's discoverer himself, Sir Stamford Raffles. Also on its long list of accolades is the prestige of being the first of its kind, dating back to 1823, when policemen really did wear shorts. In addition, it counts Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, along with many other illustrious national figures, in its alumni. Being an all-boys' institution, it was to be inevitable that when women started burning undergarments and demanding to be taught things, an all-girls' counterpart, Raffles Girls' School, was founded, and since evolved to a similar, if not greater level of quality. This self-drawn distinction between the grades of school by the islanders themselves is a large part of choosing one's Secondary School, and must be understood to comprehend the background currents and flavour when a successful businessman says he was "Only a neighbourhood school student, lah.", and the stiffness of a teenage delinquent when he acknowledges he is from Raffles, or any one of the perceived "top schools".

Graduation from Secondary School is a complicated affair, mostly to do with the sheer number of paths a student can take both to and after that end. Most students undergoing the course do a 4-year syllabus, at the end of which they take the infamous Cambridge GCE "O" Level examination. These students are classified under the Express Stream. A noteworthy mention here is that the top few schools in Singapore classify their students as "Special Stream" students, though but a rose by another name to the same end.

Students that are less academically inclined, based on their PSLE results, also do a 4-year course, at the end of which they sit for the GCE "N" Level examination. The certificate earned thus has its own value (which is to say, lower than an "O" Level), but in general, most then go on to do another year of study and to sit for the "O" Levels, albeit a year behind their peers.
GEP Students, with the course only available at select institutions, do their own mysterious things, over and above the regular syllabus taken by everybody else. One probes into their cryptic musings at one's own peril.

Subjects offered at the Secondary level include "A" Math, "D" Math, Literature in English and Native Language, English and Native languages, Geography and History. The Sciences, Biology, Physics and Chemistry are available as individual specialized subjects as well as an all-in-one single subject named Combined Science. Native Language, here, generally refers to either Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil, as these are the languages spoken by the core races of Singapore. Students with exceptional scholastic aptitude may also qualify and apply for the study of a third language. A variety of languages are offered, amongst which are Japanese, German and French. Students may also choose to take the opportunity to master a local language other than their own (i.e. Chinese Student studying the Malay language).

The "basic" certificate for this examination must include 1 Science, 1 Humanity, English, Native Language and Math, together with 1 other subject to bring the total to 6. Choice of subjects studied, as well as total number of subjects taken, is up to the individual student, and as well, the school, which decides based on previous results what the student can and cannot handle. A constant borderline passing student applying to sit for 8 subjects in the "O" Levels, for example. Of course, there do exist the examplary students that elect to, qualify for and score A1s for all 9 (the maximum permitted) subjects. Various derogatory remarks at this point are borne entirely out of envy and have no place.


Ages 16 and above:
Depending on what qualification the student managed to attain at the end of the Secondary term, he has a few options as to how he can progress from here.

-Junior College:
Known as the Highway to University, this is a 2 year course not dissimilar to the Secondary School system of meritocracy. Once again, the Raffles family, with Raffles Junior College, tends to dominate the top niche. Groomers of the nation's future leaders, or so they claim. To qualify for a low-end Junior College, one must score no higher than 20 points for their GCE "O" level examination (More is Bad). The top ranked Junior Colleges, of course, have correspondingly lower cut-off points, with the top few Junior Colleges having as low as 6 (Means you must score an A1 for every subject), after which they take into account extra-cirricular activities and individual accomplishments. Junior College students currently choose between either the Arts or Science Faculties. While the distinctions at this level not are based on merit, Arts students naturally are the more creative, outspoken ones, and study subjects such as Literature, History, Geography and Economics. Science students tend to be mindless automatons and undertake higher degrees of Math, as well as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Prizes will not be awarded for correct conjecture of author's choice of Stream. Native Language and General Paper, as well as basic Math are common subjects between the two faculties, and cross-faculty studies (i.e. Science student taking up Literature) are not unknown, though uncommon.
At the end of the 2 year course, students are then examined at the Cambridge GCE "A" Levels. Compulsory subjects are General Paper and Native Language, followed by the 3 or more specialized subjects the candidate has chosen to study over the duration of the course. Having sat for this examination, the students are then awarded their "A" Level certificate, which they may use to apply for entry to a University.


-Polytechnic:
Should the Junior College route not appeal to them, holders of "O" Level certificates may also apply for entry to a Polytechnic of choice. These Polytechnics offer exhaustive specialized courses as opposed to the Junior College system, which is a sort of Enhanced Secondary School. To name a very few, Polytechnics offers subjects like Mass Communications, Nursing, Marine Engineering and Chemical Processing for study. The duration of the course, I believe, varies with the specific course selected, but is an average of 3 years. Upon satisfactory completion of the final examinations at the end of the course, students are awarded a Diploma in the chosen course. Candidates who have performed exceedingly well may also choose to then go on to further studies in their course at a University to earn their Degree. Polytechnics generally have a higher cut-off point than Junior Colleges, though the specifics vary by course rather than institution, and for this reason, students in a Junior College are generally considered the smarter ones of the batch.


-ITE:
An abbreviation of Institute of Technical Education, students may apply to this course of study with only an "N" Level certificate. As the name suggests, subjects offered here are technical in nature rather than academic. Although unsure as to exact courses offered myself, I understand one can learn how to service Air-Conditioners, Telephone Lines and Cars in the courses offered. Students may then go on to a Diploma in their chosen line of study or simply join the workforce after they finish.




Having actually given a far more comprehensive overview of the Singaporean Educational System than I started out wanting to achieve, where exactly, in the whole thing, does this self-professed Uneducated Chinese Male stand? The lengthy elaboration above seems to point to him being in ITE.

Actually, no. For all the intentionally insensitive remarks about each educational segment I made, they were, in all honestly, meant only to use them to illustrate the social prejudice towards and against students of each division and institution that practically the entire country holds, but doesn't, of course, actually say. I started out in a generic Primary school, and moved on to the prestigious Raffles Institution, having topped my school for the PSLE. The simple, poor man's son never really fit in there, with all the rich, educated boys. When I first entered Raffles, I was staying in a two-room flat, while some of the classmates got ferried from mansion to school in huge luxury cars. The sense of segregation could only grow, really. You see, the neighbourhood primary school and its inhabitants were all I knew prior to entering Raffles, and I was rather unprepared to be so suddenly thrust into high society. I invited a classmate, once, back to my flat for some forgotten reason. He seemed edgy, and never did speak to me that much thereafter. The possible reason only dawned upon me when I subsequently visited homes of other classmates and saw how some of the other classmates lived.

Well, enough about that, really. This isn't a sympathy ploy, and I apologize if it seemed so. I also fully understand the whole affair where Boy in Poverty Overcomes Adversity and Rises to the Occasion, but fuck it. It takes a certain kind of person to do that, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm not one of those. The sense of non-belonging persisted, and it was rather a miracle that I managed to get myself promoted to the next grade, year after year. I was quite a bit of a teenage delinquent, the specifics of which are another story altogether.

In the end, I did just well enough to scrape into a Junior College. As with most people in entirely new, fresh surroundings, I made vague promises to the self to make a clean slate of it and do better. It worked for a while - I topped most classes I took in the Catholic Junior College Arts faculty initially. With a better understanding of people, I found interaction fun, in a novel kind of way, and indeed, somehow became Head of Student Welfare on the Student Council.

Of course, the fairytale ending is denied. Retaining just enough of the shreds of delinquency to piss enough teachers off, I was eventually taken off the Council by the Principal herself, and lost interest in most of the subjects when the novelty of studying something new wore off and they became the same drear tasks of memory they always had been. Miraculously once again making it to the final exams, the subsequent "A" Level certificate I was awarded didn't qualify me for any local varsity course.

And so here I am, having completed my National Service and worked for a year, uneducated and jobless. Ironic, really. I seriously consider even those who completed ITE and hold related occupations now to be more educated than I am, for I now see the "A" Levels to be the educational risk it is. Screw the supposed learning of the finer things in life. If you choose it, you'd better be damned sure you make it through. ...Or at least have the financial means to study abroad if you don't. If you don't make it through to University and can't afford to study abroad...

Ta dah. Me.