From next year, the Special course and Express course in secondary schools will be merged.
It comes from the fact that over the years, more students from the express course are taking up Higher Mother Tongue, something which was unique to the Special course in the early years of implementation.
And so the distinction between the 2 courses has now been blurred, with an increasing number of students taking HMT. This is certainly great news, as we should all be more proactive in the continuation and development of our cultures.
But as what many are thinking, what happens to the SAP schools then? The ministry had reassured these schools that their status to nurture bicultural elites will stay. But, since HMT can be taken at any other schools, there aren't much reasons for parents to send their children to SAP schools anymore.
Coming from a product of a SAP school, i don't wish to see the strong cultures of SAP schools that have been formed over the decades be eroded. The celebration of many cultural events like the Mid-Autumn Festival, for example, isn't something non-SAP school students experience. The strong culture in the schools do make a difference to the students' character and overall development, besides just making them bilingual.
So, despite the demise of Special course, i really hope the status of SAP schools aren't changed. They are still important and necessary.
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On a sidenote, there had been many changes in the system since i left it.
1. The streaming in Primary 4 had been scrapped. NO more EM1/EM2.
2. The JC Curriculum had been replaced by the H1/H2/H3 subjects, which i know nothing of.
3. The secondary school special and express streams are now soon-to-be defunct.
Look, all those are different stages in my education history. Primary/Secondary/JC.
And so i have absolutely nothing left to identify myself with, speaking in today's changing education system.
What a cruel way to show that we are getting old, right?
人生是黑白的.
10:59 PM <3
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