The downside to winning all the time

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ACS plans to start special needs school

Pilot programme for autistic children may be rolled out next year

Published on Jun 28, 2014 1:08 AM

By Andrea Ong


ANGLO-CHINESE School (ACS) plans to start a special needs school as part of its drive to be inclusive.

A pilot programme is expected to be rolled out next year at ACS (Independent) and ACS (Barker Road), subject to approval from the Government.

Chairman Richard Seow of the ACS board of governors told The Straits Times that the aim in siting the special needs school at the two schools is to get the students to mix and interact daily.

"When we talk about inclusiveness, we have an ACS school for almost every single type of learner," said Mr Seow, referring to the existing six schools which include primary, secondary, international and a junior college.

"The one area we don't have a school for is special needs. That, to us, is part of our mission to be inclusive, to make sure the ACS brand of education is available to all," he said. "It's not just an elite school dealing with the academically gifted or the sporting and artistically gifted people.

"It's the most exciting thing we're doing right now."

A working committee for this seventh ACS school is headed by ACS (Independent) principal Winston Hodge and ACS (Barker Road) principal Peter Tan.

While existing ACS schools do have students with learning disabilities, the new school is expected to cater to lower-functioning autistic children who cannot get into mainstream schools.

The committee has done some market testing and received "overwhelming support" from parents and alumni, said Mr

Seow. Parents with special needs children are particularly excited because of the long waiting lists at such existing schools.

The committee, which is working with the Education Ministry, the Methodist Church and educational experts, is ironing out details such as intake size and ages that the school should cater to.

Those who cannot afford the fees will be taken care of, said Mr Seow.

He said he hoped mainstream students would mentor the special needs students and develop a caring mindset.

"There is a tendency for some students to be a little too inward-focused, where they think about their success, about themselves, and how to get ahead," he said, calling it a "misplaced sense of meritocracy".

Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng welcomed the ACS move.

"To have another school with the passion to cater to special needs students is very worthy and very courageous of them," said Mr Ang, adviser to Grace Orchard School for children with mild intellectual disability and mild autism and an Autism Association board member.

Another area that ACS is keen to explore is a residential programme for the special needs students at ACS (Independent) and Barker Road boarding schools. It will help them to learn to live independently in a community and offer some respite to their parents, said Mr Seow.

The committee is aware of the resources and trained educators needed, he said. The plan is to start small and get the programmes right, he added.

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THE SUPPER CLUB | RICHARD SEOW

The downside to winning all the time

Richard Seow arrives for the interview with reading material: a speech titled Education Reform which the late DPM Goh Keng Swee gave at an Anglo-Chinese School dinner in 1967, and the book, Twilight Of The Elites: America After Meritocracy by journalist Christopher Hayes. The passion of the 52-year-old, who chairs the boards of governors of Anglo-Chinese School and Republic Polytechnic as well as the Singapore Sports Council, is clear. He talks to Andrea Ong about diversity in top schools and the need for a mindset change in education.

Published on Jun 28, 2014 12:34 AM


Nominated MP Eugene Tan said last month that his alma mater, Raffles Institution (RI), is becoming less diverse. In 2011, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said more than half the students in brand-name schools have graduate fathers, compared with 10 per cent in neighbourhood schools. What is the situation in Anglo-Chinese School (ACS)?

There's certainly a lot of truth in their statements.

The majority of our students have graduate parents.

Meritocracy, however, comes in from the secondary school level in the form of a single exam, whether it's PSLE, or O or A levels. Currently, shades of grey are coming in, because you've got DSA (Direct Schools Admission), you've got Integrated Programme (IP). We're also starting to get specialised schools. I think these are good.

For primary schools, entry is primarily proximity-based, though they also make allowances for the children of old boys or old girls to come in.

But most schools haven't moved for a long time. As the schools become successful, people want to live nearby. These communities then become successful from going to the schools and doing well.

What is ACS doing to help spread the success to other communities?

One solution we are willing to explore is to open a school in the heartland. We will need to discuss it with the Education Ministry and our stakeholders.

But we were open enough to set up the six schools in the ACS family and now seven: a new special needs school.

Opening in other locations may help with the inclusiveness and the demographics. If more people want to come to ACS, we can't expand our existing schools but we can look at other campuses where you can get the same brand of education.

How do you overcome the social discomfort poor students or those from non-elite schools may feel about applying to top schools like ACS?

We have to do a better job in going down to the schools to market ourselves and talk to the students. But geographic proximity will always be an issue. So you set up schools that are more accessible.

One thing I haven't quite figured out, and maybe others will look into it, is why there are not many more top government schools. If everyone seems to gravitate towards (independent schools like) RI, then there should be RI Central, RI East, RI North and RI West.

Won't that dilute the school identity? How receptive will the old boys be?

It is a risk but we have done it. We've expanded ACS to six schools. To be fair, there was resistance. But now, when ACS(I) plays ACS Barker Road in the rugby final, all the old boys look at me and they go like that (thumbs up). Each school develops its distinctive culture but we keep the same badge and anthem.

We look for platforms where all the schools can come together. That's part of the ethos we have, that this education is not an exclusive but an inclusive education.

You believe there are different pathways in education and one yet-to-open pathway is to let some schools be through-train from primary to secondary. Why?

Why not? It's a fact that some students don't test well. Are we telling them at age 12, your future hinges on the PSLE?

I believe our young should be given all the confidence in the world. Every child should be told he can achieve his dreams.

Take the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) exam at Primary 3. I'm told 1 per cent get into GEP. So the 1 per cent and their families are elated, but what message do the 99 per cent get? "You're not good enough."

PSLE at 12 years old - 10 per cent get into IP. What message do the 90 per cent receive?

We cannot afford to have nine- year-olds and 12-year-olds being told they are not good enough. They are all good. It's a matter of finding their calling and passion. At those ages, we should be instilling confidence in them, so that they are willing to try and willing to fail while trying.

How different is it to chair the boards of ACS and Republic Polytechnic (RP)?

While there are many similarities, there are great contrasts too.

The first thing that comes to mind is age. One is 128 years old and one is 12 years old.

You can see the difference: one is a group of schools with a culture that's evolved for more than a century; the other is a poly starting to evolve a culture but there are always challenges. In the Goh Keng Swee speech, he talks about building on the strengths. That's one of the approaches I subscribe to; that all schools inherently have their strengths.

What are the strengths of Singapore's education system?

I would look at two areas.

The first is skill sets. Our education system has done a terrific job in building up skill sets. Whether it's the Pisa rankings, tests, IB (International Baccalaureate) scores or A levels, those numbers are really high. We've shown that we're very good at taking exams and at assimilating and applying knowledge.

The second area is a bit more challenging and that's mindset.

I used to do global recruiting when I was a banker. I had to deliver a message to the graduates: Sorry, I don't have a job for you.

Generally, the Singapore graduate would stand up, shake my hand, say thank you, and leave. But the foreign graduate would say: "Is that just for your department? How about for next year? What if I work for free? What if you just give me an internship, I will show you that I'm worth it. Will you hire me then?"

There is a certain hunger and resilience. There's a mindset that says, I really want that job, I will do whatever it takes to get it.

That was actually part of Goh Keng Swee's speech - it's not just exam smarts, you need the creative imagination, as he puts it.

Why don't local graduates have that drive?

Innately, I think they do. But the preoccupation is with getting the grades and focusing on what it is that will get them to the next level. I was quite amused to find that some of Singapore's top schools actually compile 10-year series of interview questions for law school and medical school, so that students can prepare and have the right answers at the interview.

The question is whether that's authentic learning and whether there is authenticity in the desire to be a lawyer, doctor or whatever career they pursue.

RP is young, so how do you encourage the ethos of giving back?

Take the example of sports. People tend to support teams that win. If you go around Singapore, the majority will support Manchester United, Liverpool and more recently Chelsea and Manchester City. Similarly with educational institutions, you want to find areas of success.

RP has a school of hospitality and a school of sports health and leisure that are doing well. So, play up those successes and show people there are peaks of excellence even though it's a new poly.

Another RP success is its internship programme. As of last year, 100 per cent of all RP students had internships.

The end objective of tertiary education is to get people jobs. But as RP doesn't have the reputation yet, what do you do? You send the students out for long internships. We discovered that post-national service, RP actually has the highest employment rate of all the polys. And in the last two years, three students have been accepted into the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. These successes give the board, the staff and the students immense pride.

What is your view of meritocracy in Singapore?

The tenets are admirable but I don't think they are necessarily absolutes. I had a discussion with a politician, a civil servant and a student. I asked each the same question: Everyone talks about meritocracy, can you help me understand what you think it means?

The politician said: Equal access to all, everyone gets a chance. The civil servant said: Only the best get in. I asked the 14-year-old boy: "Do you know what meritocracy means?" "Yes, sir, I know. Sir, meritocracy means I win, he loses."

All three definitions are correct. What does that tell you? Misplaced meritocracy is selfish. It means that for me to move up, I have to stand on his head. Whereas what we are trying to do is I move up, then I help lift him as well.

Which is why I love NS, because to get over a wall, you stand on your buddy's shoulders and get over first, then you reach over and pull him over it. If not, the last man will never get over.

There was a father who came to me. He was an old boy of another primary school. His son went there but came to ACS (Independent). I asked: "Why?"

He said: "Because ACS (I) is the best secondary school. But after O levels, I sent him to another JC because that is the best JC."

He wants what's best for his child. But what values is he teaching his son? When you run into a problem, the moment you find something better, you go for it? What does that teach you about belonging to Singapore when we hit an economic speed bump?

Winning all the time, that's not life. The problem is if you have too many wins - you went to the gifted programme, scored straight As, then went to university without having any setbacks - what happens when your girlfriend breaks up with you in your first year? We need a bit more resilience.

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One of the first setback is students who do not get their choice of course or university; especially those who come from the top schools.