Balance academic excellence with moral strength

THE Alliance for a Safe Community welcomes the Prime Minister’s candid acknowledgment of weaknesses in our national education system. Recognising these shortcomings is the first vital step towards genuine and lasting reform.

As I have said before, one of the main weaknesses is the system’s overemphasis on academic achievement while neglecting the inculcation of ethics, moral values and civic responsibility.

This imbalance has contributed to worrying behavioural issues among students, including indiscipline, bullying, violence and a lack of empathy – problems that have increasingly surfaced in our schools.

Education must not only prepare students to pass examinations but also mould them to become responsible, respectful and caring citizens. Schools should be nurturing grounds for character formation, integrity and compassion, not merely centres for academic competition.

To achieve this, our education reform must include:

> Placing greater focus on moral and civic education at all levels;

> Training and empowering teachers to serve as role models in values and ethics;

> Integrating social and emotional learning into the curriculum; and

> Involving parents and the community in shaping students’ behaviour and attitudes.

A long-term, depoliticized national education blueprint that balances academic excellence with moral strength and emotional intelligence is urgently needed in order to build a future generation that is both intellectually capable and ethically grounded.

LEE LAM THYE

Chairman

Alliance for a Safe Community