• No exams for Primary 1 and 2 but mini tests instead.

• Related link: » Move to overhaul primary education gets govt go-ahead

• More qualitative feedback on strengths and weaknesses and progress in non-academic areas.
• All government schools to go single session by 2016, government-aided schools to do so at their own pace.
• Have an all-graduate recruitment by 2015; A-level and diploma holders to undergo undergraduate training at the National Institute of Education first.
• Training to ensure that teachers have a good grasp of effective teaching approaches. Going forward, the Ministry of Education should train and deploy teachers to specialise in teaching specific subjects at upper-primary levels.
• All Primary 1 and 2 pupils to take part in two broad areas, Sports and Outdoor Education, and Performing and Visual Arts.
• Recruit and train more physical education, music and art teachers; engage language or speech and drama instructors with strong oral communication skills, even if they are not trained teachers.
• When hiring teachers, select first for interest and aptitude for teaching before considering academic criteria. But continue recruiting teachers from the top 30 per cent of each national cohort.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.