In the hunt for new ideas, Singapore eases obsession with grades

SINGAPORE (Jan 9): Singapore's global rankings in maths and science have made its schools the envy of the developed world, but a new push to drive grassroots innovation is prompting local teachers to do the previously unthinkable: go easier on the exams.

The city-state's schools now have courses with no grades, at least a tenth of admissions to universities are now based on aptitudes rather than results, and the public service is scrapping a long-held practice of classifying officers by their educational qualifications.

Singapore is not about to ditch its obsession with academic excellence and discipline, but a new focus on entrepreneurship - and notions of challenging convention - marks an admission by educators that exams alone can't produce one ingredient needed for economic success: new ideas.

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