Eyes Shut Open

And here we go again.

It’s that time of the year when the supposed crème of our exam oriented educational systems fill the mainstream and non mainstream with stories on the failure of meritocracy in the PSD sponsorship program me.

Fair enough, the system is flawed.

I’ve heard of tales and instances of already listed student ALLEGEDLY delisted just because a big name made a call to insert another.

With emphasis on the word ALLEGEDLY, of course.

So many others have spoken on it that it would be a waste to harp on something which only a total revamp could correct.

Instead I drawing attention to the story gleaned from my better half on her friend.

R was her Law course mate at University Malaya, and one of the better ones too.

Her real passion however was elsewhere, and she apparently took the course to appease her parents’ wishes.

The deal (as the hearsay story goes) was that she was free to do her subject of choice after succeeding in obtaining an Honours degree.

That was exactly what she did, and with the hurdle crossed, R then took a divergent route into the artistic world of showbiz.

Last I read, she is still going strong.

R is one of the luckier ones in realizing her forte early on, something that cannot be said for so many others.

Our choking emphasis on examinations and the number of 1As (it used to be A1s in my time), I sincerely believe, has led to some bright sparks to fall sway just because they can’t hack it, for one reason or another.

Many are now concerned more with the destination instead of the journey that the latter is seen as a burden instead of the joy it's meant to be.

Education is supposed to be about acquiring knowledge and skills.

It seems to me that our children are now being rushed to complete syllabuses instead.

Understanding and appreciating nuances in the knowledge: Secondary.

Admittedly, an emphasis on understanding against pure rote learning could see classes bogged down.

Fast forward, not much of these inputs would be used by the aged children anyway.

Sigh....

Like sleeping the whole train journey across Europe.

Untitled piece by Korean-born artist Amy Sol