Exam Stress In Singapore Anyone who went through the Singaporean education system would be familiar with exam stress. But the pressure to excel may have reached new heights in recent years. In 2016, suicide prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore reported that there were 27 suicide cases involving young people between the age of 10 and 19–the highest since 2003. And the spotlight is back on teen suicide this week, after a conversation between a netizen and her Grab driver went viral. Heartbreaking Grab Conversation Here’s Ms Shane Yan’s account of the conversation. It began in a lighthearted way, with the driver sharing the good news that his son had done well in the O-Level exams. Source However, the conversation soon took a darker turn. Source The driver later mentioned that two of his sons’ friends had taken their own lives due to exam-related stress. They were only in primary school at the time of their deaths. These events have had a profound impact on the driver. The driver was worried that his son–who had failed exams leading up to his O-Levels–would follow in his friends’ paths after getting his results. I had to keep reminding him that it doesn’t matter if […]
6 years ago