The education scene in Singapore is a competitive one, with certain paths winning more favour over others. But mindsets have changed, as the modern student begins to see the value of acquiring practical skills at institutions like the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
Unfortunately, not everyone may see eye-to-eye, like a particular tutor who allegedly criticised her former student’s decision to enrol in ITE.
Upset by the tutor’s comments, netizens have come forward to call her actions out and defend the student.
The uproar started from an Instagram post by user @blackbeltclan, which showed a WhatsApp conversation between a student, Zoe, and her ex-English tutor, Mrs Teo.
Mrs Teo started the conversation by asking how her ex-student was and which junior college (JC) she was in, assuming that she had enrolled in one.
Zoe’s reply that she was in an ITE then elicited a shocked response from Mrs Teo.
Not hiding her apparent distaste, Mrs Teo went on to label Zoe a “disgrace” and told her that she was “wasting her parent’s money and effort”. She also quizzed Zoe, asking her if she knew that ‘ITE has no standing in society’.
After her humble rebuttal, Mrs Teo told Zoe that she “wont be able to secure a job interview” due to her educational record.
Perhaps unwilling to continue the conversation, Zoe decided to ignore Mrs Teo’s comments and bid her farewell.
Unfortunately, things didn’t end there, as Mrs Teo herself had some parting words — declaring that she had wanted a testimonial from Zoe, Mrs Teo seemed to have changed her mind and instead told the student not to tell other people that she had taught her.
The screenshots ended there, and we’re uncertain if anything else followed after.
As we all know, and as the Ministry of Education (MOE) has emphasised, school choice doesn’t define a student’s future.
Echoing this sentiment, a netizen came to Zoe’s defence in a Facebook post that has garnered over 2,000 shares at the point of writing.
Mr Koh, himself a former ITE student, explained that he had flunked out of the express stream in secondary school after mixing with the wrong crowd.
However, with great determination, he studied hard for his GCE ‘N’ Level exams and went on to attend ITE to learn a valuable skill set. After graduating, he enrolled in Nanyang Polytechnic and secured a diploma.
While he didn’t pursue a degree, Mr Koh still managed to find work. And after 11 years, he claims to be happy and proud of what he has achieved.
Citing his sister who also graduated from ITE and went on to achieve great things, he encouraged students like Zoe to keep their heads up.
Despite the challenges they may face, he assured them that he and many others are rooting for them.
To hear such scathing comments can be quite distressing, especially if it involves a serious pursuit like studies.
We hope that Zoe could find some perspective and heed the advice from Mr Koh.
To all students who may be struggling, know that there are many other ways to achieve your goals. Everyone is on their own journey to get there, however different it may be.
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Featured image adapted from Blackbelt Clan on Instagram and ITE, for illustration purposes only.
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