Singapore Teachers on Verge of Rebelling

Subject: Singapore Teachers rebel
Another storm is brewing within the Ministry of Education.

Aisha Quek wrote to the Straits Times Forum last week about the unreasonably
long hours her husband has to work, including not being able to take MC.

What was thought to be just a lone voice sparked off instead, over 2700
comments in the YahooSg! forum within a matter of days, after YahooSg!
published an article based on her letter. This week, more people have
written in to the Straits Time to lend their support to Aisha Quek. Teachers
are getting fed up with official circulars warning them not to speak to the
press or outsiders about their long hours and widespread low morale. But it
is an open secret that majority of teachers are unhappy with their working
conditions and school management. One principal, Charles Surin of Hai Sing
Catholic, was careless enough to get himself into the papers for alleged
bullying and intimidating of his staff.

Matters has gotten so bad that even the Director of Schools has started a
thread on MyForum, a closed online forum for teachers, to gather feedback.

Maybe we could see 10000 teachers go to Hong Lim Park, to demand for better
working conditions, and for a stronger Teachers' Union to stand up for the
rights of teachers.

Confession of a Singapore School Teacher

From: "truth"
Subject: Confession of an ex- teacher

"When competition becomes too intense and working hard alone is not enough
to attain your dreams - people will resort to excessive risk taking,
unethnical, unfair, unhealthy & immoral ways to get what they want. What
emerges out of this intense competition is not a better, stronger and
cohesive society that can take on world but a selfish, unhappy one that is
bogged down by the numerous failures it creates internally"

I would like to share this truth as an ex-teacher in a secondary school. I
taught for 5 years and what I saw and experience was really sad. And since
this will never see the light of States Times, I would like to reproduce my
experience of what you wrote about in schools.

The EPMS system that was introduced where each teacher is ranked in the
school which ultimately decides their performance and bonus has created a
climate in school where teachers lie, cheat, manipulate, condescend, taunt,
form cliques and segregate.

I'm surprised my teacher friends and I managed not to fall apart in such a
climate. Teachers are observed and ranked in a room with all the HODs and
principal. I was told to look at my colleagues as my competitors. Each
teacher was trying to outdo the other and office politics was rife in
schools. It wasn't a school and I sympathise with the students at the amount
of abuse they get. Teachers make use of pupils to win competitions for
themselves so that they could gain leverage during performance ranking. This
is dispiriting. Do not get me wrong. I'm a performer and I did well while I
was in the vocation but I had to leave because the environment that MOE has
created in the teaching profession today is so bad, that many remain single,
burnt-out or jaded. When I was there, they had a Teacher Renewal programme
where teachers learn to meditate but the crux of the systemic problem was
not corrected. It is no surprise why the government insist on bonding
teaches for 3 years. The attrition rate is very high and it is no surprise
to those still in the profession. 40% of the teaching fraternity has than 4
years of teaching. 60% are less than 8 years of experience. But for the 3
year bond, many would have left earlier and I know 2 teachers who broke
their bonds while I was there.

We are promoting a cold society. And teachers are pitted against one
another, you morally corrupt them. I wonder how many teachers out there
would speak out. I suppose most would rant on MyForum, MOE's teachers portal
instead.