SINGAPORE, Jan 8 — When young Singaporean Nathanael Koh recently grabbed headlines late last year after graduating from the Australian National University with an honours degree specialising in music composition at age 13, one question on the minds of many Singaporeans was: Why hadn’t he pursued his studies at a local university?
In an interview with TODAY, his father Chris Koh said Nathanael did apply to a Singapore university — which he declined to name — but was met with a “straight no” on account of his age.
“It is actually quite disappointing,” said Dr Koh, who has a PhD in life science and is a founder and director of a social enterprise that trains and employs individuals with special needs and their caregivers.
“But of course I understand no policy can cover the whole spectrum (of learners)... It is impossible to have a policy dictated for such people (like Nathanael) because they come up once in a blue moon.”
Parents of gifted children TODAY spoke to all agreed that the Singapore education system could be more flexible to allow exceptionally talented children to pursue an accelerated academic journey.
But education experts pointed out that there are good reasons Singapore’s system is the way it is, and that allowing young students to skip many grades may have its own drawbacks, not least on the child’s emotional and social development.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told TODAY on Friday (Jan 5) that since 2000, “fewer than 10” students have skipped grades, without giving a breakdown of their age or levels of education then.
On university admissions, the ministry said applicants for undergraduate places in local autonomous universities must be at least 18 years of age at the start of their matriculation year, or have completed a minimum of 12 years of formal education beginning with Primary 1 or equivalent.
“Applicants who do not meet the age-related requirements may be admitted on a case-by-case basis following MOE’s and the university’s assessment of the applicant’s suitability,” said a spokesperson from the ministry, adding that there are enrichment programmes available to cater to the needs of talented students.
Why the rigidity in education system?
While MOE did not directly answer TODAY’s queries on the reason behind the age criterion to enter university or the extremely small number of students allowed to skip grades, the ministry said it recognises that learners who are “more advanced” than peers their age may have differing learning needs.
“Schools can refer such students to MOE for assessment to determine the most appropriate support for the student,” said the spokesperson, adding that it would include psychological assessments, as well as consideration of the student’s social and emotional readiness and academic achievements.
“Parents, teachers and the student will also be interviewed to ascertain if acceleration would be in the student’s best interest.”
Education experts who spoke to TODAY said that one of the reasons to keep students learning with people around their age group is that interacting with their peers is important for their overall development.
Dr Ho Boon Tiong, principal consultant educationist from training and consulting firm ClassPoint Consulting, added: “There are other aspects — like the emotional development, values inculcation, character formation, critical and creative thinking, and so on.”
The development of only specific talents at an accelerated pace from young also brings some concerns, said the experts.
For instance, Associate Professor Jason Tan from the National Institute of Education said that doing so by means of hot housing — or intensely training a child in a particular talent at a young age — may run a risk of “early burnout”.
“And then, of course, not everyone can make it to the highest levels of competition,” he added.
Dr Tan said Singapore’s approach is not to “focus overly” on a narrow area of talent development, but ensure students also have access to a broad range of subjects
“The thinking is that they will all graduate with adequate certification that will serve them beyond talent development in that particular area,” he said.
Meanwhile, for the young who demonstrate particular aptitudes, the Singapore system “does not neglect” talents, said Dr Ho. It instead nurtures them through an enrichment approach.
This is done by being exposed to more advanced level classes in schools for subjects they excel in, or through additional programmes outside school, while taking on other subjects at a regular pace.
“The system doesn’t cater for a 13-year-old in a university. But it does cater for a 13-year-old who is talented to continue to pursue his or her interests in their own area of talent in many other ways,” said Dr Ho.
On its part, MOE said that it organises enrichment programmes in close partnership with Institutes of Higher Learning, research centres, industries and community groups.
“These MOE-funded programmes offer students with strong motivation and aptitude in specific disciplines valuable opportunities to develop their interests and talents under the guidance of academics and practising professionals, and in the company of like-minded peers,” said the ministry’s spokesperson.
What talented teens and their parents say
Education experts and parents said that there are trade-offs to the current system.
Ms Pamela Lim, who runs education consultancy firm All Gifted, said that accelerating talent development need not necessarily be viewed as hothousing.
“When the pace of learning is led by the child, it cannot be considered as hothousing or overly stressful,” she said, adding that how the teaching is conducted matters.
“On the contrary, when a child is held back deliberately from advancing to higher levels of study, it might hinder their overall development, including social and emotional aspects.”
She herself is a parent of gifted children. All five of them, who are working adults now, qualified for university in Australia and the United States by the age of 14 or younger.
Dr Sue-Ann Lim, a service researcher whose PhD is in gifted education and educational psychology, said that school is not necessarily the only avenue for a child to be developed in areas other than academic.
“There are other avenues that parents can leverage (such as extra-curricular activities), other community groups (such as church or volunteering) to develop the child’s social and emotional skills,” she said.
The teens and parents who spoke to TODAY, while acknowledging the importance of interaction with peers, do not find it as a huge enough problem to outweigh talent development.
Nathanael said he has friends of all ages and he did not find difficulty “at all” in interacting with his schoolmates despite their age gap.
“In fact, we talk to each other as friends in the same stage of our academic journey,” he said, adding that his discussions with them go beyond music.
Mr Goh Wee Lip, whose 14-year-old son Zi Han is Singapore’s top chess player at his age, said: “If a child genuinely has the intelligence to cope (in a subject or field) at a higher level and has the interest to do it, I think he should be allowed to pursue it that way.
“When it comes to his childhood and interaction with kids of his age, I think that has to be managed by the parents,” he said, adding that it is up to the parents to achieve the right balance.
Zi Han, who is a Year 3 student at Raffles Institution and an International Chess Federation (FIDE) master — a ranking below international master and the apex grandmaster — tries to squeeze in at least 15 minutes each school day to play chess, on top of his school work load.
In other countries, chess players his age typically commit many hours a day to the game.
Zi Han and his father both wished for more “flexibility” in the school schedule so that Zi Han could spend more time honing his chess skills while still being in mainstream education.
For example, students in RI are required to take up at least one “core” co-curricular activity from a select list of activities and are allowed to take another “merit” CCA. Chess club is recognised as a merit CCA in the school.
“I enjoy debate (his core CCA), but if chess is counted as a core CCA, then I can spend more time training in it,” he said.
His father takes this notion further, suggesting that students with exceptional aptitudes in certain areas can count that talent — be it a sport or a game — towards an academic subject in secondary school, much like how art can be taken as an examinable subject.
The parents acknowledge that the Singapore school system does well in preparing students for examinations and providing enrichment activities.
“While Singapore excels in nurturing above-average students, it may fall short in supporting exceptionally gifted ones,” said Ms Lim.
To support the latter, a more tailored approach is necessary, said parents.
“Having a one-to-one consultation to help them (extraordinary talents) to establish an education pathway — I think that will be very beneficial,” said Dr Koh. — TODAY
