Pupils' workload cut to develop creativity

SINGAPOREAN schoolchildren, who in tests out-perform their peers around the world but face high levels of academic stress, may see their workload cut by up to 30 per cent.

The lighter load would make for more time to develop creativity and thinking skills, Education Minister Teo Chee Hean said.

"In our case, teaching less allows us to teach better," Mr Teo told parliament.

He said the curriculum cut would take effect next year, preceding a major government review of the way children were taught and tested in the conservative city-state.

Mr Teo warned that simply cutting out parts of the syllabus was not a solution. "Creative thinking cannot occur in a vacuum," he said. "It can only be learned and applied in the context of adequate knowledge."

In a recent global survey, Singapore children eclipsed their counterparts from 40 countries in a series of maths and science tests.

But in recent years, educators, academics and some of the leaders themselves have bemoaned a lack of creativity and original thinking among Singapore's youth.

 Published in the South China Morning Post. Mar 21, 1998