Hi Yummum,


I am not sure about their P1 homework as she is now in P6. I used to think that MTS is one of the better school comparable to Nan Chiau. But I think I am wrong.

MTS is just one of the slightly better neighbourhood school. Even neighbourhood school provides remedial classes for the weaker stidents. But I guess my daughter ends up in the wrong class with the wrong teachers for the last 5 years. She has no remedial for Maths and Science since P1 - P5. Hence her fundamentals in Maths is very weak. Her current Maths teacher said to me last month that some of the pupils in the class are still counting the time tables with their fingers. I hope they have more fingers to help them with their time tables…

70% of last year MTS graduated pupils make it to Express Stream in Secondary School. The National average is about 60%. So, they fare slightly better than the neighbourhood schools. So, I would say that if your child happens to be the last 100 position in school, you need to watch that space very carefully or else, they will land up in the Normal Stream. So remedial classes for this 30% is very critical.

But again, there are some very good and respectable teachers in MTS. And I believe some of these teachers are teaching in the top classes.

MTS has a long history but reality is that they are a new relocated schools 6 years ago and managing a full blown class compare to the past is very different. In the last 2 - 5 years, they have only got about an average of 3 graduating classes. So, it is very difficult to benchmark the results compare to now. But gauging from last year results, they have more rooms for improvement.

If your child is an average student, going to MTS is a good choice, but if your child needs special assistance, maybe going to a neighbourhood school will be better choice. But, please check with the school if the Principal enforces remedial.

In some of the neighbourhood schools during the Parents Briefing, the Principal focus a lot of attention in Remedial classes. They even announced that they will be starting the Supplementary and also Remedial Classes from Janaury onwards and Remedial is compulsory for the weaker students.

I dont see and hear this kind of message from MTS during the Parents Briefing for PSLE last month.

Not all the teachers are bad. MTS has many dedicated teachers as well.


But why some teachers provide remedial while others don’t.

I believe it is the Principal duty to make sure that all the students in his school is given Fair Education. This is the fundamental needs of all students.

I am disappointed and I cannot rely on the schools assistance. How many times have you heard from teachers that the parents are stressing their child with enrichment classes in such that the child has got no time to finish their school homework. Now, I know the reason why…there are too many unproductive SUPPLEMENTARY classes…and thus the parents needs to rely on a more reliable enrichment class.

You are right. Not all the teachers are lack of compassion. But if your child has not been provided remedial classes for the last 5 years for Maths and Science. Does that mean to say that your child is not getting a fair and deserved treatment.

I have spoken to the Authorities and I don’t see any action taken. They knew that the same class were not provided with remedial classes for Maths and Science. I have also spoken to the new Principal. I still do not see any plans for remedial.
What is the point of having 3 supplementary classes in a week and saying that there is no remedial because of classroom resource?
Are we talking about productivity here?

Compassion. The school teaches COMPASSION but doesn’t know how to execute it. How ironical.


The school shouldn’t just concentrate on the stronger students but must have compassion for the weaker students too…

Here it is....something relating to remedial classes and helping the weaker students from our Minister.


AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMMES TO ASSIST STUDENTS

19. Mr Hri Kumar Nair asked the Minister for Education whether primary and secondary schools are required to implement any after-school programs to assist students who are not coping in their studies.

Dr Ng Eng Hen:

Schools employ a variety of initiatives to help students who are not coping in their studies – both during and after school. This is necessary as many such students require help with issues such as social and emotional management, attitude towards learning, and family-related problems.

In primary schools, specialised early intervention programmes are provided for pupils who lack basic English literacy and numeracy skills. The key interventions are the Learning Support Programme (LSP) for English at P1 and P2, and Learning Support for Mathematics (LSM) at P1. These programmes are implemented by Learning Support Co-ordinators (LSCs) and LSM teachers who are qualified teachers specially trained by MOE. For other primary and secondary students who need additional help in their studies, remedial classes are organised and conducted by teachers based on the needs of the students.


So based on Dr Ng Eng Hen comments, can I assume that MTS should provide remedial classes for the weaker students? And it should be the Principal's responsibility to enforce remedial classes based on the needs of the students............

I knew some of the previous P6 pupils that couldn’t make it to the Express Stream and I thought that they were not given a fair chance. Have you heard of other schools not providing remedial classes?


It is alright if we can let our child develop at their own pace and there is nothing wrong with doing Normal Stream but is this the best, MTS can assist? Having remedial for P6 in March and June will be too late for some of the weaker students.

So, there was no plan for remedial? My girls attended the supplementary classes too, but there are no remedial classes. I thought that remedial would have been included in the supplementary classes but I was wrong.


Should remedial classes be driven from top down? I understand that some dedicated teachers have been doing remedial classes. What about the other teachers that do not provide remedial classes at all? My daughter’s class has not been provided any remedial assistance since P1 for English, Maths and Science. Hence their basic foundation is not there.
And it is going to be very challenging for the teachers to inherit this graduating class. The lack of remedial class could be overlook because of the quality of the teachers and lack of classroom resources.

Having spoken to the teachers, I am glad that remedial classes will be provided for English and Chinese lessons. As for Maths, there is no remedial schedule yet.

Just a little concerned. My daughter is currently in P6 and she has not been getting remedial classes for Maths and Science since P1. I am wondering where were all the help needed to help the weaker students. For 5 years, no remedial classes were provided, even with tuition, she has failed miserably in her Maths for 5 consecutive years.


Maybe we should be informed of the percentage of their P6 students making it to Express Stream instead of just telling us that they performed above the national standard. You will be surprised to know the percentage not qualifying for Express Stream. And if your child falls below the 30% percentile, the chances of doing normal stream is there.

The teachers in my girls’ class will face tremendous pressure as this is the first year they are interacting with the graduating class. They need to know the pupils very quickly. Some of the pupils are still doing their time tables with their fingers and almost 75% of the class will need to attend remedial clases as soon as possible. Can you imagine inheriting a graduating class that doesn’t have a sound foundation? And these are the pupils that are taking 4 standard subjects.

I hope that they will start the remedial classes sooner and hopefully, MTS will have a higher percentage of passes making to the Express Stream next year.

To the teachers that are teaching this class, Jia You, dont give up as I know this is not an easy job. Your dedication and hard work will be appreciated by all the parents in the class.

I hope that we can see a vast improvement in the overall standard in MTS. I just cannot stand complacency. My wife has been in the parents support group for 6 years and is currently doing her 7th year in school. My older daughter has been contributing in Wushu and doing the school proud. My younger daughter has been in PA for many years and they are the ones that get to school very early and stay back late if required. We, the parents and the children are very much integrated to the school and giving our best to the school.

I hope the new Principal will set a higher vision and do all of us PROUD.