Stricter rules on JC transfers too sudden

While my child did well in the O-level exams last year, I was disappointed when the school announced that the Education Ministry had decided admission to junior colleges would be based strictly on cut-off points, and no appeal would be considered ("Stricter rules on JC transfers"; last Friday).

This is unlike previous years, when students could appeal based on other merit, such as involvement in co-curricular activities (CCA) or leadership excellence.

It appears that we are again back to an education system with a pure academic score approach, without any flexibility accorded to schools to exercise judgment and discretion.

If the appeal system is deemed cumbersome and is to be abolished, surely, more notice should be given, rather than dropping the bombshell on the day the results are released.

Did the decision-makers consider the time and effort students had put in for CCA and other non-academic duties, with a view to leverage them when their academic points are slightly off the cut-off marks of their desired JCs?

Goh Cheng Lee (Ms)

This article was first published on January 20, 2016.
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