TO THE EDITOR:
I definitely agree that any efforts to segregate schools should be met with resistance. However, I do not say this with respect to the Gifted Education Program. The GEP is a model that is beneficial to any society in the long run and there must be segregations in order to push each and every kid to their fullest potential.
The case of Singapore will, however, provide a good lesson on the trappings of a GEP and why “providing all students with an equal education to succeed in the GEP” will not work. Singapore has long been heralded as having an excellent education model and that is no doubt driven by its persistence in promoting the GEP. Although Singapore provides an education which would no doubt be considered “fair, equal and just,” cracks are beginning to appear because the basis of exams are not well tailored to suit students with diverse interests. Suffice to say, many students are often devastated when they find out that they do not qualify for the GEP.
Therefore, rather than providing an opportunity for students to enter the GEP, it would be much better if we provided students with alternative paths to the GEP. The end goal should be to educate our future generation that there are many alternative paths to success in life other than the GEP and that you are not inferior to your peers based on a system that rewards success in a strictly defined fashion.
Yeo Desmond
Sophomore
Geography
