Singapore's Ethnic Education Problems
Our Correspondent | Feb 24, 2010 |
Contrary to popular perception, Singapore does actually have a working Parliament, in which ministers are occasionally asked questions, some of which are not plants.
In Parliament Monday, one such incident occurred when Zaqy Mohamed, vice-chairman of the ruling People's Action Party's youth wing and an ethnic Malay MP, asked the education minister what was being done about the persistent educational under-performance of ethnic Malay students compared to Singaporeans of other ethnic backgrounds.
The problem is a serious and persistent one. Figures from the Education Ministry show that while Singaporean exam results have increased across the board over the last decade, the stark disparities between the city-state's main three ethnic groups remain.
In 2008, just 59.3 percent of Malay students achieved 5 passes at O-level, the exams taken by 15 and 16-year-olds, compared to 86.2 percent of Chinese and 73 percent of Indians.
For additional details, please see The Asia File at Asian Correspondent.
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