On October 11, 2025, Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung addressed recipients of the Anugerah Mendaki awards at the NUS University Cultural Centre, outlining Singapore’s educational trajectory and the nation’s commitment to evolving its education system for future challenges. His remarks, delivered to 529 award-winning Malay/Muslim students and their families, offer profound insights into how Singapore views education as a foundational pillar of national development and social cohesion. This analysis examines the significance of his statements within the broader context of Singapore’s development strategy and their implications for the nation’s future.
Education as Singapore’s Social Equaliser
Minister Ong’s characterization of education as “the most powerful social equaliser” encapsulates a fundamental belief that has guided Singapore’s nation-building efforts since independence. This statement carries particular weight in Singapore’s multicultural, multiethnic context, where education serves not only as a mechanism for economic mobility but also as a tool for social integration and national unity.
For a city-state with limited natural resources, education has been the primary driver of economic competitiveness and human capital development. Singapore’s transformation from a colonial trading post to a advanced global economy has depended almost entirely on the quality and adaptability of its workforce. Education systems that fail to provide equitable opportunities would undermine both economic productivity and social stability—two pillars essential to Singapore’s survival and prosperity.
The emphasis on education as an equaliser reflects Singapore’s meritocratic ideology, where individuals from all backgrounds are theoretically able to advance based on ability and effort rather than family connections or inherited privilege. This is particularly significant for minority communities in Singapore. The Anugerah Mendaki awards themselves, established in 1982, represent four decades of institutional commitment to recognizing and supporting excellence within the Malay/Muslim community, ensuring that merit is identified and nurtured across all segments of society.
Historical Context: From Fragmentation to Integration
Minister Ong’s historical overview of Singapore’s education system reveals a deliberate, phased approach to building a coherent national education framework. The early fragmentation he describes—where different communities received education in different languages and to different standards—was not merely an administrative challenge but a potential threat to national cohesion in a newly independent nation (1965) that was ethnically and religiously diverse.
The transition to a unified system with a national curriculum and bilingualism represents a sophisticated policy response to multiple competing objectives. By adopting English as the common working language, Singapore ensured linguistic unity and positioned itself competitively in global commerce and technology. Simultaneously, by maintaining mother tongue languages, the government preserved cultural identity and prevented the erasure of heritage—critical for maintaining social harmony in a multicultural society.
This dual-language approach has become a cornerstone of Singapore’s education policy and a model studied globally. It demonstrates an understanding that national integration and cultural preservation need not be mutually exclusive objectives. For minority communities, the maintenance of mother tongue education signals official recognition of their cultural legitimacy within the nation-state, even as all citizens learn a common language of national discourse.
Structural Reforms and the Expansion of Technical Education
The introduction of streaming in the 1970s marked a pivotal moment in Singapore’s education evolution. High dropout rates in that era indicated that a one-size-fits-all academic curriculum was failing significant portions of the student population. Rather than viewing this as a failure of students, Singapore’s policymakers recognized it as a signal that different students had different aptitudes and learning needs.
The development of polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) represented a fundamental shift in how Singapore valued different career pathways. Rather than treating technical and vocational education as a second-class option for academically unsuccessful students, Singapore invested heavily in infrastructure, teaching quality, and industry partnerships to make these pathways attractive and prestigious.
Today’s statistic that three in four Singapore students pursue technical education at either ITE or polytechnics represents a remarkable reorientation of the education system. This reflects both the design of the system and the evolving nature of economic opportunity in Singapore. The expansion of technical education pathways has had several impacts:
Economic Competitiveness: Singapore’s strong vocational training produces skilled workers in sectors critical to the economy—manufacturing, marine industries, hospitality, healthcare, and increasingly, green technology and renewable energy.
Social Mobility: Technical education offers genuine pathways to middle-class employment and financial security, not merely as consolation prizes for academically weaker students but as legitimate routes to valued careers and comfortable livelihoods.
Workforce Diversity: The prominence of technical education creates a more balanced, diverse workforce aligned with actual labor market needs rather than producing an oversupply of university graduates in fields with limited job opportunities.
Reduced Social Tension: By creating multiple pathways to success, Singapore avoids the social stratification and resentment that can arise in systems where a narrow academic route is valorized and alternative paths stigmatized.
The Knowledge Economy Transition and Holistic Development
The 1990s marked Singapore’s intentional transition to a knowledge-based economy, driven by technological advancement and globalization. This transition required a fundamental reimagining of education’s purpose. The shift from rote learning and examination performance to emphasizing critical thinking, creativity, and independent learning represented a substantial pedagogical change.
This evolution reflects an understanding that in a knowledge-based economy, the ability to learn, adapt, and innovate matters more than the specific facts one has memorized. As information becomes increasingly accessible and technology obsolescence accelerates, workers must be capable of continuous learning and creative problem-solving. Singapore’s education system adapted to develop these capacities in students from an earlier age.
Recent Systemic Reforms: Reducing High-Stakes Testing
The reduction of examinations and the replacement of the PSLE T-Score with a broader Achievement Level scoring system represent more recent, significant reforms that address a mounting concern in high-performing education systems: the mental health and psychological toll of intense academic competition.
Singapore, like several other East Asian economies, has historically employed highly competitive, examination-driven education systems. While these systems produced high academic achievement and strong international test scores, they also generated significant student stress, anxiety, and in some cases, self-harm. The shift to fewer examinations and a less finely differentiated scoring system suggests a policy recognition that optimal educational outcomes require balancing academic achievement with psychological well-being.
The phasing out of secondary school streaming similarly reflects recognition that rigid educational tracking at younger ages can become self-fulfilling prophecies, limiting opportunities for students who develop differently or who were incorrectly classified earlier. More flexible pathways allow students to demonstrate capability across different subjects and contexts.
The introduction of early admission exercises for institutes of higher learning based on talents and interests represents a particularly important reform. By valuing non-academic attributes—artistic talent, leadership, athletic ability, entrepreneurship—Singapore’s education system signals that success and contribution take multiple forms. This diversifies the population entering higher education and helps ensure that talent in domains beyond academic subjects is recognized and developed.
The AI Imperative: Education for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Minister Ong’s extended discussion of artificial intelligence reflects a critical challenge facing education systems globally. AI’s rapid advancement raises fundamental questions about what skills remain valuable, how education should prepare students, and how to balance AI-enhanced learning with the development of distinctly human capabilities.
Singapore’s policy approach demonstrates several priorities:
AI Literacy: All educators must understand AI’s capabilities and limitations well enough to harness it as a teaching tool. This requires substantial professional development and ongoing teacher support.
Responsible AI Use: Students must learn not merely how to use AI but how to use it wisely—understanding when AI assistance is appropriate and when it constitutes intellectual shortcutting or abrogation of responsibility.
Preservation of Human Capabilities: Minister Ong’s caution against over-reliance on AI—”such that we lose our basic skills as human beings to communicate, to try, to make mistakes, learn and master a skill”—reflects concern that AI’s convenience could atrophy human capacity. Learning fundamentally requires struggle, failure, and persistence; students cannot develop mastery or resilience through AI-mediated shortcuts.
Workforce Adaptation: As AI automates routine cognitive tasks, workers must develop higher-order skills: complex problem-solving, emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning, and creative thinking. Education must prioritize these capacities.
This represents a delicate balancing act. Singapore must position itself at the forefront of AI adoption and innovation while ensuring that students develop the human capabilities that remain irreplaceable and valuable. The nation that successfully navigates this balance will have significant competitive advantage.
Mental Health and Holistic Development: Addressing Student Wellbeing
Minister Ong’s emphasis on strengthening students’ holistic development, particularly their mental health and well-being, indicates official recognition of emerging challenges in Singapore’s education system and society more broadly.
Singapore, despite its economic success, has grappled with student mental health issues. The pressures of a competitive education system, high parental expectations, and intensive academic schedules have been linked to rising anxiety, depression, and self-harm among young people. Additionally, the ubiquity of smart devices and social media introduces new psychosocial challenges: cyberbullying, social comparison, sleep disruption, and addiction-like patterns.
The government’s emphasis on mental health represents both a humanitarian concern and a pragmatic recognition that students who struggle psychologically cannot learn effectively. Schools, families, and communities must collaborate to create supportive environments and provide intervention for struggling youth.
This represents a significant cultural shift in a society traditionally focused on academic achievement and economic productivity. Acknowledging that well-being matters alongside achievement signals that Singapore values its youth as complete human beings, not merely as economic inputs.
Multiple Pathways and Vulnerable Populations
Minister Ong’s emphasis on creating “multiple pathways to success” and his specific mention of vulnerable students and those with special educational needs reflect important equity commitments. These statements acknowledge that students arrive at school with vastly different starting points and that a system designed only for typical learners will inevitably fail significant populations.
Special educational needs constitute a particular focus area. Singapore has expanded inclusive education, integrating students with disabilities into mainstream schools while providing specialized support. This approach benefits both students with disabilities, who gain exposure to diverse peers and mainstream curricula, and non-disabled students, who develop understanding of human diversity and inclusive practices.
Vulnerable students—those from low-income families, experiencing housing instability, or facing other socioeconomic challenges—require targeted support to access educational opportunities. The role of community organizations like Yayasan Mendaki (which Minister Ong explicitly acknowledged) is critical here. By providing scholarships, counseling, mentoring, and family support services, such organizations help ensure that capability isn’t wasted due to circumstance.
Mendaki’s Role and Community Partnership
The Anugerah Mendaki awards themselves exemplify how Singapore approaches education through community partnerships. For over four decades, Mendaki has worked to ensure that Malay/Muslim students are recognized for excellence and supported in their educational pursuits. By 2025, the awards ceremony honored 529 recipients—a substantial number suggesting either significant growth in the awards program or consistently high achievement within the community.
The government’s partnership with community organizations like Mendaki reflects recognition that education cannot be the sole responsibility of schools. Families, religious organizations, self-help groups, and community networks all contribute to educational outcomes. By formally recognizing and supporting these partnerships, the government leverages resources and cultural capital beyond what the state could provide alone.
For minority communities in Singapore, such institutional recognition carries symbolic significance beyond the material support provided. It signals that the state values their participation and recognizes their distinct identity within the national framework.
Implications and Future Challenges
Economic Competitiveness
Singapore’s education reforms position the nation to maintain competitiveness in a rapidly changing global economy. By emphasizing AI literacy, creativity, critical thinking, and technical skills, the system aims to produce workers capable of innovation and adaptation. However, Singapore faces competition from other rapidly developing economies and must ensure continuous system improvement.
Social Cohesion
A robust education system that provides genuine opportunities for all Singaporeans regardless of background strengthens social cohesion. The explicit focus on vulnerable populations and minority communities signals inclusive values. However, maintaining harmony in a multicultural society requires ongoing attention to equity and recognition of all communities’ contributions.
Psychological Well-being
The shift toward emphasizing mental health represents important progress but faces implementation challenges. Teachers require training in recognizing and responding to mental health issues. Competitive pressures from families and culture persist even when school systems reduce high-stakes testing. Integration of mental health support requires systemic changes across schools, families, and communities.
AI Integration
As education integrates AI tools, the challenge lies in using technology to enhance learning without diminishing the distinctly human elements that education uniquely provides. Determining which educational tasks should be AI-supported and which should remain primarily human-mediated will require ongoing research and reflection.
Global Context
Singapore’s education reforms occur within a global context of education transformation. The nation benefits from learning from international best practices while maintaining awareness of its unique context. Continued attention to comparative education research and international partnerships will be important.
Conclusion
Minister Ong Ye Kung’s address to the Anugerah Mendaki award recipients encapsulates Singapore’s sophisticated approach to education as a foundational national institution. The government views education not merely as a mechanism for individual economic advancement but as critical infrastructure for national development, social cohesion, and competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world.
Singapore’s evolution from a fragmented, colonial education system to a unified, comprehensive system offering multiple pathways reflects thoughtful policy-making responsive to changing needs. The recent reforms emphasizing well-being, creativity, and diverse talents signal maturation in how the system understands human development and flourishing.
The explicit mention of AI, mental health, and vulnerable populations indicates that Singapore’s policymakers are grappling seriously with contemporary challenges. The nation seeks to balance achievement with well-being, embrace technological change while preserving human capability, and ensure opportunity for all Singaporeans regardless of background.
As Singapore moves forward, the education system will likely face continued pressure to innovate and adapt. The success of these efforts will significantly influence the nation’s ability to maintain prosperity, preserve social harmony, and enable all Singaporeans to flourish in an uncertain future. The government’s demonstrated willingness to reform, reflect, and refocus on holistic human development suggests that Singapore possesses the adaptive capacity necessary to navigate these challenges.
The Future of Tomorrow: A Singapore Education Story
Part One: The Weight of Expectations
The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Priya’s family apartment in Bukit Panjang, casting long shadows across the dining table. She sat with her laptop open, pretending to review her notes for the upcoming Achievement Level assessments, but her fingers drummed anxiously against the table instead. Outside, Singapore’s skyline gleamed with glass and steel—a monument to progress that sometimes felt more like a burden than an inspiration.
At seventeen, Priya Krishnamurthy represented Singapore’s meritocratic promise. She was bright, hardworking, and the first in her family to be born in Singapore. Her parents, who had immigrated from India, had sacrificed enormously to give her opportunities they’d never had. But opportunities, Priya had learned, came with their own weight.
“Priya, have you finished the Chemistry questions I printed for you?” her mother called from the kitchen. It was Saturday morning, and there was always more to study, always another subject to master, always another exam around the corner.
Priya sighed. She had finished the questions—all thirty of them—but there would be more tomorrow. This was the rhythm of her life: wake, attend school, attend tuition, study, sleep, repeat. The algorithm of achievement.
What Priya didn’t know was that somewhere in the corridors of power, the system she’d inhabited her entire life was beginning to transform.
Part Two: Seeds of Change
Two weeks earlier, in the Ministry of Education building in Buona Vista, a team of education specialists had gathered for a quarterly strategic meeting. Among them was Mr. Rajesh Tan, a deputy director who had spent the last decade studying education systems across the world—from Finland to South Korea, from Estonia to New Zealand.
“The data is clear,” Rajesh presented, clicking through slides of student wellbeing surveys. “We’re seeing rising rates of anxiety, sleep deprivation, and depression among our secondary students. Our academic results are excellent, but our students’ psychological profiles are concerning. We have brilliant minds that are burning out.”
The Ministry had begun tracking not just exam scores but holistic indicators of student flourishing. The picture was mixed—academically strong, but emotionally fragile. Young people were achieving external markers of success while experiencing internal distress.
“What troubles me,” continued Rajesh, “is that these trends are showing up even among our top students. We’re creating a generation that knows how to succeed but not how to live.”
Dr. Patricia Goh, the head of curriculum innovation, leaned forward. “We’ve already begun reforms—fewer exams, broader Achievement Levels instead of T-scores, more flexible pathways. But I think we need to go deeper. We need to fundamentally rethink what we’re optimizing for as a system.”
This conversation had been happening quietly for months, sparked by research, international comparisons, and most importantly, feedback from teachers and counselors who worked directly with students day after day.
The decision had been made: Singapore’s education system would undergo its most comprehensive transformation in decades. But unlike previous reforms, this one would be designed from the ground up with student wellbeing at its center, not as an afterthought.
Part Three: The Trial
Priya’s school, Meridian Secondary, was selected as one of twelve pilot schools for the new “Flourish Framework.” She didn’t know this when she arrived on Monday morning in March, when her form teacher, Mrs. Lim, made an announcement that would eventually reshape her entire understanding of what education could be.
“This year, we’re trying something different,” Mrs. Lim explained to the class. “We’re still going to prepare you well for your final exams, but we’re also going to focus on something that’s been missing: your actual well-being and happiness.”
The first change was subtle but significant: the school reduced the number of formal examinations by half. Instead of multiple monthly tests across all subjects, there would be fewer, more comprehensive assessments. The space freed up by fewer exams would be used for something called “Integrated Learning Projects.”
“What’s an Integrated Learning Project?” asked Akmal, raising his hand.
“Glad you asked,” said Mrs. Lim, her eyes brightening. “Instead of studying Chemistry, Literature, and History in isolation, you’ll work on real-world problems that require knowledge from multiple subjects. For example, next month, you’ll be investigating Singapore’s food security challenges. You’ll use Chemistry to understand soil composition and hydroponic systems, History to learn how Singapore’s food strategy has evolved, Geography to map supply chain vulnerabilities, and even Literature to analyze how food appears in storytelling across cultures.”
For the first time, Priya felt a spark of genuine curiosity. Food security was actually interesting. It mattered. It was real.
But the changes went deeper. The school brought in a full-time counselor, increased recess time, introduced mandatory “mind-body” periods three times a week where students could choose between meditation, yoga, tai chi, or simply sitting quietly in the garden. Teachers received training in recognizing signs of student distress and responding with compassion rather than punishment.
Perhaps most radically, the school introduced something called “Failure Fridays.” Once a week, students were invited to share something they’d failed at—a project that didn’t work, a performance that flopped, a test they’d bombed. Other students would listen and ask questions, and collectively, the group would analyze what could be learned.
“Failure Fridays are designed to normalize the fact that failure is part of learning,” explained Mr. Goh, the school’s new wellbeing coordinator, who had trained in positive psychology before transitioning to education. “Right now, many of you have been taught that failure is shameful, something to hide. But actually, failure is where the most important learning happens.”
Priya’s first Failure Friday, she shared how she’d attempted to learn coding through an online platform but had given up after two weeks, frustrated by bugs she couldn’t fix.
“Why did you want to learn coding?” asked another student.
“I don’t know, honestly. I thought I should, because tech skills are important. But it turned out I really hated it,” Priya admitted.
“So the failure taught you something about yourself,” reflected Mr. Goh. “That’s valuable information. How many people go through university in fields they chose out of obligation rather than genuine interest? Your failure here just saved you years of potential misalignment.”
Part Four: The Ripple Effect
Three months into the Flourish Framework, something unexpected happened. Instead of academic performance declining, it actually improved—not dramatically, but measurably. Teachers observed that students who felt psychologically safer and more engaged were actually more willing to attempt challenging material and more resilient when they encountered difficulties.
But the most striking change was qualitative. Students seemed different. Lighter. More curious. They asked more questions in class, questions that came from genuine puzzlement rather than strategic test preparation. They started forming study groups around interests rather than just need. They laughed more.
Priya’s mother, Mrs. Krishnamurthy, noticed the change in her daughter first. One evening, Priya was eating dinner and talking enthusiastically about an Integrated Learning Project on water management in Southeast Asia. She was animated, engaged, asking her mother questions about water scarcity in India.
“You seem happy,” her mother said, surprised.
“I am,” Priya replied, then paused. “I know I’m still studying a lot, but it feels different. Like I’m actually interested in what I’m learning. Does that make sense?”
Mrs. Krishnamurthy felt tears prick her eyes. When had her daughter last spoken about her studies with joy rather than anxiety?
As the Flourish Framework expanded to more schools across Singapore, similar observations emerged. Parents reported their children sleeping better, experiencing less anxiety, showing more enthusiasm for school. Teachers reported enjoying their jobs more, feeling they could actually teach rather than just coaching for exams.
The system began to shift.
Part Five: The Broader Transformation
By the end of Priya’s secondary school years, the Flourish Framework had been rolled out to every school in Singapore. The Ministry of Education had revised its mission statement to explicitly prioritize student flourishing alongside academic achievement.
Key changes had been institutionalized:
The national examinations had been restructured around achievement levels and competency-based assessment rather than norm-referenced rankings. Universities had adapted their admission processes to value diverse talents—admitting students for their artistic ability, leadership potential, or entrepreneurial initiatives, not just academic grades.
Technical education pathways—through ITE and polytechnics—were now genuinely prestigious. The cultural narrative had shifted such that choosing a vocational path was seen as a smart alignment of interests and abilities, not a failure to make the academic cut.
AI had been integrated thoughtfully into education. Rather than replacing teachers, AI systems provided personalized learning support, flagged students who might be struggling, and helped identify each student’s learning profile and optimal pathways. Teachers used AI to reduce administrative burden, freeing them to focus on the deeply human work of mentoring, inspiring, and caring for students.
Mental health professionals were embedded in schools. Students experiencing anxiety or depression could access support quickly, not after months of waiting. The stigma around mental health challenges had diminished as the system normalized the fact that psychological struggles were part of being human.
Most importantly, the definition of student success had expanded. Students were encouraged to explore their genuine interests and strengths rather than conforming to narrow measures of achievement. Multiple pathways to fulfilling lives and productive careers were equally valued.
Part Six: Years Later
When Priya graduated from Meridian Secondary, she didn’t have the highest grades in her cohort. But she had something more valuable: she knew herself. She understood her strengths and limitations, her passions and aversions. She had experienced struggle and learned from it rather than being crushed by it.
She chose to pursue engineering at a polytechnic, not because she felt she had to, but because she loved designing systems. During her studies, she also took electives in environmental science and social entrepreneurship because those subjects fascinated her.
Her friend Akmal, who had initially aimed for medicine because his parents expected it, discovered during his secondary school years that he actually wanted to study music production. With the new framework, this wasn’t seen as a waste of his academic ability but as an authentic alignment of his gifts with his passion. He pursued sound engineering at one of Singapore’s technical institutes and now works for a major entertainment company, producing high-quality content.
Mei-Lin, who had struggled with anxiety and depression in her earlier years, benefited from the enhanced mental health support now available in schools. With counseling and peer support, she worked through her challenges and discovered a strength for caring for others. She’s now training to become a healthcare professional, motivated by genuine compassion rather than external pressure.
Ten years after the Flourish Framework’s initial rollout, Singapore had experienced a quiet transformation. The education system still produced academically excellent students who performed well on international assessments. Universities still received well-prepared graduates. The economy still benefited from a skilled, productive workforce.
But something else had changed. Singaporeans now reported higher levels of life satisfaction, better mental health outcomes, and greater alignment between their work and their values. Young people still worked hard, but they did so more sustainably. They experienced success and failure as natural parts of learning and growth rather than as existential threats.
The nation’s social fabric had been strengthened. By prioritizing the flourishing of individuals, the system had inadvertently strengthened social cohesion. When people felt genuinely cared for by institutions, when their whole selves—not just their academic output—were valued, they became more invested in community and country.
Part Seven: The Uncertain Future
Yet the story doesn’t end here, because the future remains uncertain. Education never stops evolving, and new challenges continually emerge.
Artificial intelligence continued to advance at breakneck speed. The question of what uniquely human capabilities remained important—and how to cultivate them in an age of computational power—remained urgent. Some feared that even with safeguards, students might become intellectually lazy, outsourcing thinking to machines. Others worried about growing economic inequality as some sectors demanded advanced skills while others automated away entirely.
Climate change intensified, bringing new physical and psychological pressures. Students had to grapple with anxiety about an uncertain planetary future while also developing the problem-solving capabilities needed to build solutions.
Singapore’s demographic structure continued to shift. With fewer children born each year, the labor force was aging. Questions emerged about how a smaller cohort of young people could sustain a nation increasingly dependent on imported labor and advanced technology.
Geopolitical tensions rose in Southeast Asia. Singapore’s strategic position, once an advantage, became more precarious as great powers maneuvered for influence. Education had to prepare citizens who could navigate complexity and contribute to regional stability.
Part Eight: Continuity Through Change
But as the Ministry of Education faced these challenges, there was something that hadn’t changed: the commitment to adaptive learning and continuous improvement.
When AI capabilities advanced faster than expected, schools didn’t panic or ban the technology. Instead, they developed curricula specifically focused on AI literacy, ethics in algorithmic decision-making, and the distinctly human capacities that remained irreplaceable.
When climate anxiety became evident in student populations, schools incorporated environmental education and climate action projects into Integrated Learning, helping students move from despair to agency.
When demographic and economic challenges emerged, the system worked with industry partners to anticipate skills needs while maintaining flexibility, knowing that the most important skill was the ability to learn and adapt.
The Ministry convened regular forums with teachers, students, parents, and community leaders to reflect on how well the system was serving its purpose: enabling all Singaporeans to flourish and contribute to the nation.
There were setbacks and failures. Some reforms didn’t work as intended. Some teachers struggled to implement new approaches. Some communities resisted changes they viewed as diluting academic rigor.
But the fundamental commitment remained: Singapore would continue to reform its education system not because the current system was perfect, but because education must continuously evolve to serve both individuals and society. The government had learned that adaptive capacity—the willingness to reflect, reform, and refocus—was perhaps the most important capability the system could cultivate.
Epilogue: The Conversation
Twenty years after the Flourish Framework’s introduction, Priya, now a successful engineer running her own sustainable design firm, participated in a panel discussion about education and the future at the Singapore Education Forum.
“What would you say education gave you?” asked the moderator.
Priya considered carefully. “As a young person, I thought education’s purpose was to give me credentials so I could get a job and be financially secure. And it did that. But looking back, what was truly valuable was that my school eventually helped me understand myself—my genuine interests, my values, my strengths. The framework shifted from ‘How can we make Priya successful by external measures?’ to ‘How can we help Priya discover and develop who she authentically is?’
“And here’s the thing—that second question actually led to greater success by the first measure. Because when I’m doing work that genuinely aligns with who I am, I’m more creative, more persistent, more resilient. And I’m happier. My parents immigrated so their children could have opportunities. The greatest opportunity is the freedom to become yourself.”
As she spoke, young students in the audience listened intently. They had grown up in an education system that already prioritized their flourishing. To them, the idea that education had once been purely achievement-focused seemed strange, almost unimaginable.
But they were also aware that their education was far from perfect. New challenges had emerged. The system continued to evolve. And that, perhaps, was the real victory—not that Singapore had created a perfect education system, but that it had created a system committed to continuous learning and adaptation, mirroring the very capabilities it sought to cultivate in its students.
The future remained uncertain. But Singapore moved into that uncertainty with something it had cultivated through deliberate, thoughtful reform: the adaptive capacity to meet whatever came next, not by clinging to the past, but by continuously reimagining what education could be.
In a small classroom in Bukit Panjang, a fifteen-year-old girl sat down to begin her homework. Instead of feeling the familiar weight of anxiety, she felt something different: curiosity about what she would learn, confidence that her efforts mattered, and hope that the future—her future—was hers to shape.
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