Revamp in moral education

REFERRING to the letters “Making Moral Studies more relevant” (The Star, Feb 7) and “Moral studies need a review” (Dec 17), I would like to correct certain views on the matter.

Critics of Moral Studies should be aware that students need not memorise the 36 values together with the definitions and regurgitate them in the exams. The 36 values are given in the syllabus and students need to know them just as they need to know certain terms in other subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. Students should not be penalised if they are able to justify their answers based on the situations given. Furthermore, freedom of speech is allowed if the students provide grounds for their answers with appropriate values. The reasons given should reflect the higher order thinking skills of the students.