By Jonathan Liautrakul

HOW many A-level students does it take to change a light bulb?

Well, none at Anglo-Chinese Junior College, where the school would rather pay someone else to do it. And one at Victoria Junior College, with the rest waving banners in support.

Related link: » Schooled for success, on my own terms

These jokes did not sit well with some teachers at my school when I offered them to a school magazine. One suggested I refrain from any more contributions for a while.

Having done it in jest, I had no regrets. Besides, the jokes are not without some truth when it comes to portraying Singapore's education scene: an obsessive pursuit of rankings and results.

Like Darwin's natural selection, those who adapt well to the education system remain at the top of the food chain. If you do not, you are on the way out.

The desire to ace examinations remains deeply rooted in students from high achieving schools. At Catholic High, I was expected to keep up with the academically inclined cohort and land a spot at a top junior college, then a good university.

So when I obtained miserable O-level results, I felt really inferior.

The disappointment stayed with me throughout my next three years at Millennia Institute, as I struggled to downshift to the slower pace and lackadaisical attitudes of my peers. I missed the motivation that had spurred me to achieve.

With the help of teachers and friends, I was one of the lucky few from my cohort to make it to university.

The idea of being the best in elite schools is so deeply ingrained in our minds that it has spilled over into pop culture.

Recently, my army buddy lamented the lack of recognition for polytechnic students. As an ice-breaker on his first day at university, he was asked not which school, but which junior college he was from.

Even as one applauds the Government's efforts to empower non-elite institutions, competition and school branding will remain unchanged, as will our love-hate relationship with it.

All I can do is to focus on my future and take life with a pinch of salt. After all, academic identity is still my top priority in life - a sad but unavoidable truth.

The writer, 19, has a place to read arts and social sciences at the National University of Singapore.