The following is the  original letter of the one published in the TODAY newspaper on Wednesday, 9 April.

Pic: CNA
Pic: CNA
 
By Perry Tan
Singapore students recently came up tops in a PISA problem solving test and there was considerable celebration from certain quarters that this is a validation that we produce creative problem solvers, not rote learners.
It is all well and good that our students do well in solving unfamiliar problems, but this euphoria has to be checked against the common feedback from employers, especially MNCs, that local graduates tend not to be the most impressive workers.
The PISA test involves students solving pre-defined problems individually online.
How well does that translate to real world problem solving scenarios where you have to make sense of incomplete information and data; define the problem; collaborate and debate with others who have differing perspectives, cultures and styles; work with and around systems, processes and organisational dynamics; use intuition as much as logic to formulate a solution; market your solution to stakeholders to get buy-in; and finally drive relentlessly towards an outcome you want?
The real world rarely requires IQ-smart people to sit in silos, decipher data and reports, and solve pre-designed problems based on pure hard logic.
Our education system already does very well in imparting technical subjects like Math and Science, and developing our students’ “hard” skillsets for problem solving. The obvious gap is in the soft skills: articulation, communication, facilitation, leadership, and cultural-political-organisational acumen.
This gap can only be closed by placing due focus on areas like Literature, public speaking, group work and the social sciences. While it can be comparatively challenging to score A’s in these topics and some of them cannot even be objectively evaluated, we have to recognise that unless we acquire these soft skills to complement our traditionally strong hard skills, we cannot develop truly world class talent to compete in the globalised, knowledge economy.
Despite our longtime stellar academic achievements, we have not won any Nobel Prizes, not produced any world renowned experts in any areas, not innovated any world class products and not built any world class companies. In fact, today, our economy is suffering from productivity issues. Even our political leaders and senior civil servants, who are the cream of the cream of our system, are quite lacking in communication and people engagement capabilities, as was clearly demonstrated in face of policy lapses in several areas in recent years.
We have to understand that a lot of valuable skills in life and in the modern workplace cannot be objectively evaluated in standardised tests, and we should pay more attention to the input and needs of employers than blindly trumpet achievements in standardised tests, which does not necessarily translate to superior workplace performance.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

73 additional cases of COVID-19 confirmed; Two new clusters at PCF Sparkletots Preschool Fengshan branch and Dover Court International School

As of Wednesday (25 March 2020), 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH)…

”廖文良也对狮城作出贡献“ 淡马锡狄澜称勿武断下定论

淡马锡控股国际执行董事狄澜(Dilhan Pillay)认为,樟宜机场集团主席廖文良同样对新加坡和民众作出贡献,而他在多家公司的过往业绩也证明这点。 上周五(4日),高庭推翻国家法院判决,被前雇主廖文良指控偷窃的前女佣巴蒂,被判无罪。在今日(8日)的线上记者会,也有媒体询问廖文良的行为,是否违反淡马锡的价值观,以及集团会否检讨此事。 对此,狄澜如是回应:”有许多人不论是在公共或私人领域,都对新加坡和我们社会作出贡献,廖文良是其中一位,他在嘉德置地、樟宜机场集团和盛裕集团的业绩都证明了这点。“ 廖文良也是盛裕集团主席。他在淡马锡也是培育基金会主席。狄澜表示不愿对诉讼作进一步置评,惟认为应从廖口中聆听对此事的看法,在聆听各方说法前,”不应武断就下定论。“ 高庭法官陈成安曾表示,有理由相信廖文良为了阻止女佣到人力部投诉,所以廖家父子先发制人,突然解雇女佣,不让后者有时间去人力部,并指控后者偷窃。 律政部兼内政部长尚穆根,针对上述案件表示,欣见”正义获伸张“。有鉴于廖文良一家和外籍女佣的悬殊身份,尚穆根强调,司法应对所有人秉公,无关乎涉案者的身份。

Four additional cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed by MOH; All cases traceable

As of 18 February 2020, 12 pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH)…

SIA group: Limited passenger network could mar financial performance in latest quarter

Capacity cuts are expected by the Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) as it…