Can not mention

I am really amazed at the speed our government introduce changes in policies. I am not sure whether to be impressed or amused. Today was the release of the PSLE results and I have read in the papers that the ministry is considering not announcing the top students. I thought it meant the ministry will not be revealing the names of the top students in the cohort and the schools they come from. Little did I expect such draconian measures to "hide" the scores. I was at my school to see how my P6 clients fared and also to standby should any pupil need counselling. In the hall where all the pupils and parents were gathered nerves were raw as usual. As per past years after the usual announcements about the application process for secondary school and getting the pupils to acknowledge the dedication of their teachers, the Principal went on to reveal the percentage of passes in the various streams and the subjects. The name and the score of the top 3 students were not announced. In its place the Principal spoke about "model" students who set good examples and 5 names were flashed on the screen. There was no mention of how they fared in the exam or how they earned the merit of being "model" students. I turned to a teacher standing next to me with a puzzled look and she told me these students are actually the top scorers in the school. Throughout the briefing other than broad percentages not a single mention was made about the actual scores, the magical 3 digit figure became a taboo overnight.

Another new "pattern" shall I call it was the introduction of an award for the student with the best character. "Hmm....isn't that rather subjective?" I whispered to the teacher. She told me there was a list of criteria for the selection and the school had to get the teachers to nominate students and then  decide on the name after a long meeting.

I find the sudden change rather amusing. I thought about the tuition centre which no longer could parade the picture and score of the top PSLE student whom it proclaimed to have groomed. I thought, about the parents of the top students in each school who missed the opportunity of feeling the glory which their child brought upon them (aiya just missed by one year). I empathized with my principal whose rotten luck deprived her the pride of announcing a substantial improvement in the scores this year. I thought about that 3 digit figure, be it 197, 212, 224, 236, 244, 255, 262, 279, 285 obsessed by generations of parents. Yes it is high time this figure be banished from our dream/ nightmare.