'Removing PSLE will not remove stress': Chan Chun Sing recommends approaching stress with the right mindset

The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is a huge milestone for parents and children alike - but the stress that comes with it is well-documented.

Candy Tay, a mother of two, recalled how PSLE was incredibly stressful for her and her daughter at first.

"It was quite bad at the beginning because there was a dip in results… you can feel the stress level is there because all the parents were gathering and talking about good tuition centres," the 43-year-old piano teacher said.

She also saw how much stress her 13-year-old daughter was put through as each of her subject teachers would give her daughter test papers to complete - Tay herself also did the same.

"I think this is common, but it will become quite pressurising on the kids," she said. 

Tay, like some parents out there, welcomes the thought of PSLE being abolished.

But removing PSLE won't eliminate the stress that students and parents may feel, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament on Friday (March 1).

Speaking at his ministry's budget debate, Chan shared that "from time to time, some call for MOE (Ministry of Education) to remove exams like the PSLE".  

"Let me state that if we see our worth as being defined by exam results only, removing the PSLE will not remove stress," Chan said today.

"Neither is removing all stress our goal."

He said that students need help to manage and overcome stress.

Additionally, Chan said that exams like the PSLE and the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) are not ends in themselves, but a means to help children find a suitable learning environment in the next stage of their education journey.

"Let's help our students to understand their strengths, approach stress and challenges with the right mindset and use exams to right-site themselves for the next stage of learning, rather than as a competition to beat others," he added. 

From 2027, the SEC will replace the separate Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education, for O and N levels.

This topic of scrapping PSLE has been raised before in previous Parliamentary debates.

In 2018, a policy suggestion in Parliament included the abolition of PSLE, which then Education Minister Ong Ye Kung addressed.

He had admitted that PSLE isn't a perfect system and adds stress to parents and students. However, he also stressed that it is meritocratic and fair despite its imperfections.

The topic was also raised again in 2019 when MP Denise Phua called for the removal of MOE's "sacred cow" of PSLE.

New national common exam in 2027 

Separately, Chan said in Parliament that this year’s Secondary 1 students will sit for the new SEC examinations in 2027.

And after taking their exams, students will receive a common certificate, the SEC, which will replace the current O, N(A) and N(T)-level certificates. 

ALSO READ: 'I hope I make him proud': Boy turns grief into strength after father died a month ahead of his PSLE exams

khooyihang@asiaone.com