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Streaming has helped, but 'lacks flexibility', among other drawbacks: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — The practice of streaming students has some drawbacks, even though it has enabled students of different abilities to learn at their own pace, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (March 5).

Schools  “should create opportunities for students to interact with one another across different races and social backgrounds, so that they grow up at ease with one another and share a sense of identity, mutual responsibility, and nationhood”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

Schools “should create opportunities for students to interact with one another across different races and social backgrounds, so that they grow up at ease with one another and share a sense of identity, mutual responsibility, and nationhood”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

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SINGAPORE — The practice of streaming students has some drawbacks, even though it has enabled students of different abilities to learn at their own pace, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (March 5).

In a Facebook post, Mr Lee said streaming “lacks flexibility, and students in the slower streams may become demotivated”. Subject-based banding overcomes these difficulties, he added, while “enabling each student to learn at the pace which suits their aptitude and level, depending on the subject”.

His comments came a few hours after Education Minister Ong Ye Kung announced in Parliament that streaming will be scrapped.

“Our education system is widely admired. However, that doesn’t mean we will stop trying to improve it!” Mr Lee wrote.

The Ministry of Education introduced streaming 40 years ago, he noted.

“The system has enabled students of different abilities to learn at their own pace. It has helped nearly every student to complete secondary school, and most to go on to post-secondary education.”

But he noted its drawbacks, and added: “We take education very seriously, and will listen to all ideas to make it better. We must acknowledge that children differ enormously in their abilities and interests.”

Schools should tailor the education they offer to the students’ varying needs and talents, he said.

“At the same time, they should create opportunities for students to interact with one another across different races and social backgrounds, so that they grow up at ease with one another and share a sense of identity, mutual responsibility, and nationhood.”

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