Portal to rate schools sparks concern among some educators

SINGAPORE — Writing reviews to stand a chance to win a vacation may be a common gimmick on travel websites but an education resource portal — co-founded by a former secondary school teacher — has gone the same path, asking parents, alumni and students to review and rate schools here.

While the reviews received so far have generally been positive, the move has sparked concerns among some educators.

Since it started offering a 3D2N hotel stay at Sentosa as a lucky draw prize about two-and-a-half-weeks ago, Edumatters.sg has received about 70 reviews to date on primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges, its co-founder John Low told TODAY.

Reviewers can rate the schools out of five stars, and post comments across categories ranging from facilities, academic learning, character development, to co-curricular activities and communication with parents. They can also write about their general experiences with the schools.

Mr Low said Edumatters started seeking reviews in February but the response was poor. It then came up with the idea of offering a hotel stay as a lucky draw prize, which will be given out next month. Mr Low said: “We do not intend to create school rankings of any sort, not to rate how bad or good a school is, but the objective is mainly to promote sharing of experiences.”

Reviewers have to be registered with the website and their posts are monitored. Reviews containing one-off negative incidents that do not reflect any systemic issue are removed, Mr Low said. For example, a review talking about lessons ending late at a particular school,which affects a child’s gastric problem would be considered acceptable, whereas an isolated bullying incident would not.

The website does not verify claims in the reviews but the community can flag inappropriate write-ups.

Some of the parents who have posted reviews admitted that they were motivated by the lucky draw prize.

Nevertheless, they welcomed the website as an additional source of information. A mother of two, who gave her name only as Mrs Soh, said she posted a review to “let fellow parents have a realistic perspective of the school” that one of her children goes to.

Currently, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has an online School Information Service system that details each school’s programmes and achievements. In response to TODAY’s queries, the ministry said: “There are many online platforms leveraging on user generated content. It is useful for users of such online platforms to be discerning of the views shared.”

It added: “They may also wish to seek views from a wider variety of sources for a more holistic assessment of the experiences and opinions shared.”

Educators interviewed noted that it would be impossible to stop people from posting online reviews about schools. But they pointed out that the reviews are subjective and the accounts may not always be true.

Bowen Secondary principal Bernard Chew said: “With websites, there will be a variety of opinions on different schools. These websites could be useful for parents’ information, but schools will not be able to monitor the reviews and verify them all the time.”

Tampines Secondary School principal Balamurugan Krishnasamy agreed that such platforms create publicity for schools. However, the authenticity of the reviews would be a concern, he reiterated.

Pioneer Junior College principal Tan-Kek Lee Yong pointed out that parents’ experiences with schools could be unique and might not give the full picture. Adding that some junior colleges have immersion programmes, she said: “Parents and students are welcome to visit the school, get accurate information and will be able to ask questions and clarify their doubts in the spot.”