Initiatives to Engage Parents to Alleviate Pressure of PSLE for Mental Well-Being of Students and Parents

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Christopher de Souza, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education how does the Ministry plan to further engage parents to alleviate the pressure of the PSLE on students and parents to prevent their mental burnout.

Response

1.Examinations such as the Primary School Leaving Examination serve as useful checkpoints for students to gauge their learning and enable them to progress smoothly to suitable learning environments.

2.All examinations come with some amount of pressure. Our starting point should not be to remove all stressors for our students, but to inculcate in them skills to manage pressure, and the mindset to view assessments as an essential part of learning and growth.

3.Parents play a critical role to inculcate this mindset. Let us work together to help children embrace learning beyond grades, so that they can develop the right attitude towards learning. Give our students the space and opportunities to realise their full potential by discovering new passions, and becoming curious, creative learners for life. To support this, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has introduced efforts such as providing more options and pathways in our education system, including through Full Subject-Based Banding and different opportunities in higher education.

4.Conversely, if parents are overly anxious about grades, children will not understand the intrinsic value of learning. When MOE removed mid-year examinations to reduce the overemphasis on grades and create space for more engaging learning experiences, some parents turned to tuition centres which provided mock mid-year examinations. This runs counter to the shifts we are making in our education system, and the mindset shifts we are trying to cultivate.

5.Educating our students requires a whole-of-society effort. We seek support from parents to complement schools' efforts by modelling behaviours that focus on learning and self-improvement, rather than on grades and outperforming others. In addition, parents can use the various resources provided by MOE and other agencies, including from the Parenting for Wellness initiative, to support our children through their educational journey. Many of us in this House are parents. It is incumbent on us to help our children grow with the right mindsets in learning so that they can thrive in life beyond schools.