My commentary in Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报), 12 August 2026
By Kelvin Hong (方健文), Founder and Principal Tutor, The Economics Tutor
I run a tuition centre. Economically, I have every reason to want Singapore’s education system to stay exactly as competitive as it is.
That is the uncomfortable position I wrote from last week in Lianhe Zaobao, in a commentary titled 《方健文：新加坡教育”军备竞赛”背后逻辑》. Our examination culture built the tuition industry I work in. It is also, I argued, producing students who are very good at examinations and less good at the things the next economy will actually pay for.
I came to this from three directions. I was a policymaker in government, so I understand why radical reform makes the civil service nervous. I have also been offered positions as a Senior Tutor in the Economics departments at NUS and NTU, and I am a Raffles Institution alumnus who benefited from excellent facilities, outstanding teachers, and the lifelong social capital an elite school confers — which is precisely why I think the question of whether that concentration of advantage still makes sense is mine to ask.
Behind the Commentary: Why We Need a Structural Shift
I decided to write this piece after years of observing a recurring pattern in my classrooms. We have built a highly efficient machine for producing excellent examination candidates, but I increasingly see students who are exhausted by the time they reach JC. Furthermore, the skills that get them an ‘A’ are no longer the only skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing global economy.
In the op-ed, I outlined four critical areas where we need to rethink our approach to education, moving away from a high-stakes filtering mechanism toward a system that builds real-world resilience.
1. The Illusion of Surface-Level Reform
When MOE removed mid-year examinations to reduce stress, the immediate market response was instructive: parents flocked to tuition centres to sign up for mock exams. This happens because the bottleneck is structural, not psychological. As long as places in top schools remain scarce, competition is a rational economic response. We cannot just adjust the pace of the race; we have to redesign the track.
2. Reimagining the PSLE as a Ballot
Currently, the PSLE functions as a high-stakes sorting mechanism. I proposed converting it into a foundational competency threshold (pass/fail) and using an electronic ballot for oversubscribed secondary schools. While balloting creates its own anxiety, it frames the outcome as an issue of resource allocation (“it wasn’t your turn this time”) rather than a devastating judgment on a 12-year-old’s innate worth (“you aren’t good enough”).
3. The AI Economy Demands Different Skills
Artificial intelligence has commoditised the “right answer.” Generative AI can retrieve information, write code, and produce content in seconds. The future economic premium will not go to students who function as perfect calculators. It will go to those who can pose original questions, evaluate AI outputs, and synthesize ideas across disciplines—skills forged through debate, drama, internships, and early entrepreneurial attempts.
4. Redefining “Elite” Education
Concentrating our strongest students in a few elite environments isolates them from the broader realities of society. If we want future leaders with genuine empathy and resilience, our top schools must be a microcosm of Singapore. I argued that these schools should reserve places for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and be evaluated on the true “value-add” they provide, rather than merely maintaining high grades for an already-excelling cohort.
Why this matters for my students
Every argument in my commentary is built from A-Level and IB syllabus material: scarcity and allocation, the difference between a price mechanism and a non-price rationing system, the unintended consequences of policy intervention, and the misallocation of resources when a market rewards a narrow set of outcomes.
That is the point I make to students constantly in our H2 Economics tuition classes. Economics is not a body of definitions to be reproduced under timed conditions. It is a way of looking at things you already live inside — including the education system you are currently competing in. Students who can run that analysis on unfamiliar, real-world material are the ones who reach the top band, because that is exactly what the case study and essay papers are testing.
About The Economics Tutor
The Economics Tutor (TET) is a premier provider of Economics Tuition in Singapore. Founded in 1998 by Kelvin Hong – a Valedictorian, First Class Honours graduate in Economics (NUS) and Former Government Policy Maker. His authority is unrivalled: headhunted to join the Economics faculties of NUS & NTU, he is a Trainer of Economics Tutors, has served as Chairman of the National Economics Quiz, a Judge for International Financial Analysis Competitions, and is personally commended by the RI Humanities Director and Department Head for Economics.
For over 26 years, our specialized JC Economics Tuition (A-Level) program (with dedicated H1 and H2 Economics Tuition classes) has helped students secure As by focusing on critical thinking and our proprietary “Mental Gym” methodology. We take a similar practitioner-led approach in our IB Economics Tuition program, offering additional support for the Internal Assessments (IA) and Extended Essay (EE).
With deep familiarity of both the A-Level and IB Economics syllabus, our curriculum helps students master concepts as well as Exam techniques, avoid common pitfalls and maximise their exam scores. With a track record of 80-90% Distinctions yearly, our students progress to secure their desired tertiary choices in prestigious universities. As a Serial Entrepreneur, Kelvin goes beyond grades to nurture the investment acumen and business decision-making skills you need for life. See our Student Testimonials or explore our learning resources, including our Study Guides and Model Essays (highly sought after by teachers and schools worldwide) as well as our high-yield Concept Videos.
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