'I'm normally given lots of homework. After work, I study some more'

She wakes up at 6am and boards the school bus from her condominium in Simei at 6.40am.

After co-curricular activities in the afternoon, she heads home - at different times during the week, depending on the activity - and 'rushes' to do her homework, go for tuition or religious classes, before calling it a night at 10pm. This is a typical school day for 10-year-old Asma Afiqah Zulkifli, a pupil at Gongshang Primary School.

She said she stays up late because of a heavier workload this year as she is preparing for the Primary 4 streaming examinations in October. 'I'm normally given lots of homework. After work, I study some more,' she said.

Despite having little free time and getting two hours less than the recommended amount of sleep for children her age, she said she does not feel tired in school and thinks she gets enough sleep. 'Sleeping at 10pm is just right,' she chirped.

She makes it a point to finish her work before watching TV or playing badminton with friends. Her mother, Ms Norwati Jirkaseh, said: 'As parents, we also ask her to complete her work. But sometimes, I feel sorry that they don't have time to just relax and read a storybook.'

The 42-year-old office manager added that she sometimes feels teachers pile on too much homework. Once, Asma stayed up until 11.30pm to finish her work.

But she herself is responsible for staying up past 10pm on some nights. 'Sometimes when I watch television, it gets addictive so I end up sleeping late, but I will try to stop the habit as it is unhealthy for the mind,' she said.

'I feel stressed with all the homework and assessments I have to do'

It is 11.30pm when Mahatir Faizal hits the sack.

He wakes up at 6am to board a private van which gets him to school by 7.30am.

His school day culminates with supplementary classes but they are followed by tuition or sports training.

Mahatir, 11, has tuition for all four of his core subjects - Malay, English, Maths and Science.

When he gets home to a terrace house in Pasir Ris, he has dinner before grappling with homework until bedtime.

Is 6-1/2 hours of sleep enough for this active boy?

No, said the Primary 5 pupil at Gongshang Primary School in Tampines, although he said he does not feel very tired in school.

But he said: 'I feel stressed with all the homework and assessments I have to do.'

His father, Mr Faizal Salleh, 40, a fleet manager at Singapore Airlines, tries to organise the boy's tuition on alternate days so as not to overload him.

He said Mahatir rarely has problems waking up in the morning.

'We always reason with him over the importance of studying hard,' he said.

'He knows that if he is not responsible enough to wake up on time, he will miss his transport.'

His mother, Madam Norsham Noh, 40, a primary school teacher, also helps with his homework.

Mahatir sometimes enjoys a brief respite before bedtime: a game of carrom with his family.

'I love playing games with my family and talking to my parents at the end of a long day,' he said.

This story was first published in thesundaytimes on July 20, 2008.