'Bearing in mind that we need only 6 O-Level passes or something like that to get to junior college'

really? During my time u needed <20 points to make it to jc.

you THOUGHT this is america?

I will paraphrase Greg Palast. This is not "nobody left behind" but "nobody's behind left".

This seems to be a pretty common practice. About 10 years back when I was in one of the top five JCs, I was forced to drop one subject and do only three A level subjects.

Even after I left the JC (only spent first three months there), it is common in my neighbourhood JC for people to be made to drop subjects due to their JC1 preliminary results.

But there's a logic to it, doesn't it? If you didn't prove that you can handle 4 subjects well, then do 3 subjects lar.

Focus on the things you do well. Isn't that an axiom for life? If you were great at baking, I would rather you start a bakery rather than becoming a carpenter and a baker at the same time.

this isn't in response to the original article.

Anonymous Coward* on 14 July, 2008 - 2:23pm,
i agree with you. i don't think teachers ask students to drop to maintain standards for the school's reputation per se. obviously it's to the students' benefits to focus on three subjects instead of four if they can't handle four. and by experience, they ought to know who are the ones to be able to make it. not that their judgement is 100% correct. it's just in general.

in my alma mater, those in the grey areas had a choice. there will be teacher recommendations handed out to everyone. ultimately, the choice is still the student's. only those who sucked really badly had to be forced to drop. furthermore, the teachers made it clear about the criteria to keep all four subjects, on top of doing S papers (old syllabus), getting promoted to the second year, etc. i feel that students were all fully aware of the causes and effects from the start of junior college.

In the words of Chow Yun Fat :

"Welcome to Singapore ! "

Go malaysia better...down there pay money no one left behind

erm, motto in Singapore is the "greater good". when did anyone say nobody's left behind.