SINGAPORE — Parents of the first batch of students to be affected by the changes to the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) grading system have welcomed the Government’s move and lauded the reduced focus on academic grades, but they remain sceptical about whether the changes will cut down stress on students.

For one, they are not inclined to give up on tuition for their children due to keen competition in classrooms. After all, their children would still have to fight tooth and nail for every point in examinations and tests, they said. And one point could make a difference between a lower and higher banding, they noted.

News of the change was announced in Parliament yesterday by Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng, and details of the new grading system are expected to be finalised in the next two to three months.

Housewife Choo Phek Kheng, who has a son in Primary 1, said that although there would not be a need to chase after the final aggregate score, there would still be “some level of stress” as long as schools still have tests and exams in the academic year. “If I find that my son is not performing well in school, I will still send him for tuition,” the 38-year-old said.

Agreeing, a 31-year-old banker with a child in Primary 1 and who gave her name only as Madam Chung, said: “If I find that my kid is not catching up, of course I will continue to send my kid to tuition.”

Madam Choo added that how her son would be streamed to secondary school under the revised system mattered: “I’m not sure if he will miss the school he wants to go to by one or 10 points with the changes.”

On whether the new system would truly reduce stress, Mr Ng said in Parliament that there is no “silver bullet answer”, because stress is an aggregate of different factors and would require a collective paradigm shift.

“In our school systems ... ultimately there is a personal choice involved — what the student may want to do, what the parents may want him or her to do,” he said.

“MOE (the Education Ministry) has taken some steps and we’re taking bolder steps to review many of these structures and policies ... MOE, however, cannot do any of this alone. We need all the different stakeholders to come on board with us and value areas other than academics.”

During his speech, Mr Ng encouraged students to “consider carefully which secondary schools offer education pathways and opportunities that are best suited for you, based on your specific aptitudes and aspirations”.

And parents such as Mr Peter Chua, 36, said the choice of schools depends on a variety of factors, including a school’s reputation and the quality of its teachers and students.

On the Government’s review of the Direct School Admission scheme — where selected secondary schools pick Primary 6 students based on their achievements and talents before the PSLE results are released — mother-of-two Leraine Leow said that the scheme should come in at a later stage. The 35-year-old part-time piano teacher, whose children are aged nine and 11, said that this is because at Pri 6, children “may be too young to decide” on their interests.