Schools' SYF scheme revamped

Changes spell less pressure on youth, more focus on enjoyment of the arts

By Stacey Chia, The Straits Times, 12 Nov 2012

STARTING next year, students participating in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) inter-school arts assessment will face less pressure.

The SYF Central Judging will be renamed SYF Arts Presentation while the award structure - gold with honours, gold, silver, bronze and certificates of participation - will be changed to just three levels: distinction, accomplishment and commendation.

These are some changes put in place by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to emphasise enjoyment of the arts rather than the pursuit of awards. More than 30,000 students are expected to take part in the SYF next year.

Said an MOE spokesman: "This is more attuned to the nature of the arts, which is about the appreciation of the art form and performance as a means of communicating with an audience."

Schools will now need to score only 75 per cent and above to get the highest award - a distinction - compared to 85 per cent for gold with honours and 80 per cent for gold previously.

Now in its 46th year, the SYF is an annual event organised by the MOE to showcase talent in the performing arts in seven areas - arts and crafts, band, Chinese orchestra, choir, dance, drama and instrumental ensembles.

Between April and May, groups are benchmarked against one another. There is no quota to the number of awards given out for each category. In the last two years, an average of 75 per cent of entries bagged a silver or higher.

Outstanding groups then perform for the public in a week- long Arts Festival in July.

The event will be known as SYF Celebrations from next year. Instead of featuring only performances from the seven categories, it will start showcasing other genres. "This is to encourage schools to provide more opportunities for students to explore and experience different art forms," said the MOE spokesman.

These changes come after it announced in September the removal of secondary-school banding and certain award schemes for academic achievements which have led to unhealthy competition over the years.

Principals interviewed by The Straits Times welcome the move to make the SYF less competitive.

"There was a televised documentary on the central judging and you can see how devastated the students are when they don't get gold with honours... it takes away the joy of performance and becomes a very stressful thing," said Mr Abdul Mannan, principal of Ang Mo Kio Secondary School.

Over the last few years, the band and choir in his school have earned gold with honours and gold accolades. He added that arts groups are now more likely to take in students with interest rather than solely talent.

Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, said the changes need not mean that the quality of the arts will drop.

"Standards cannot be measured by awards; if teachers are passionate about a certain activity, it is for the teachers to motivate the students to give their best, whether there are awards or no awards," he added.

Education GPC Chairman welcomes changes to SYF
by Leong Wai Kit, Channel NewsAsia, 11 Nov 2012

Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, Lim Biow Chuan has welcomed the move to make changes to the annual Singapore Youth Festival (SYF).

From next year, schools taking part in the festival will no longer compete for awards.

Instead, students will be issued certificates.

The festival will also be renamed the Singapore Youth Celebrations.

The Education Ministry told Channel NewsAsia that the name change "celebrates the diverse artistic talents of our students where parents, public and students interact in a less formal setting. It will feature performances from existing SYF Arts categories and other arts genres. This is to encourage schools to provide more opportunities for students to explore and experience different art forms."

The Education Ministry told Channel NewsAsia that the revisions emphasise the process of learning and enjoyment of the arts, rather than just the focus on awards.

It added this is more attuned to the nature of the arts, which is about the appreciation of the art form and performance as a means of communicating with an audience.

Mr Lim said this move away from emphasising on awards is good.

He added it is part of the overall scheme to make education less stressful here.

The Singapore Youth Festival is an annual event that celebrates achievements by youths in their co-curricular activities.

Activities start in April, and culminate in a month-long celebration in July.

Students from schools across Singapore involved in the performing arts, sports and uniformed groups then compete for awards.

Mr Lim noted that may have put pressure on schools to perform.

"At the end of the day, many schools feel that they have to catch up, have to work very hard to make sure that the activities that students participate in do result in awards," he said.

"I think this has added stress to the entire school system, where the teachers feel stressed, the students feel stressed, and all are chasing the award."

Mr Faisal Suptu, a former teacher, said: "I have seen students putting in a lot of effort into training, which can last up to 7pm every week day. Sometimes, the students would be excused from lessons so that they can go for training sessions.

"But the stress doesn't end when the SYF is over -- teachers have to arrange for students to catch up on their lessons after the festival."

Mr Faisal said the stress is also passed on to parents, who would be advised to monitor or help their children catch up with school work at home.

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