Laptops should be a reward not gift

It is my view that  laptops should only be given as a reward for excellence and not a gift for sitting the SEA examination. The laptops should be given to either the top 100 SEA students or the top 20 students of each primary school. In a country where we are eager to reward mediocrity, this laptop “gift” is just another example. When will we as adults expect the best from ourselves and our children? No wonder our country is on the decline—no longer are morals, values, integrity, achieving excellence and respect for self and others given precedence. I remember as a child always being told ‘reach for the stars’ and‘always do your best’—do parents tell their children this anymore?

 

 

How can you justify giving the same reward to a child who attained 95 per cent as opposed to 30 per cent and less at SEA? I appreciate that not all children are book savvy, but we as parents must make time to talk with our children and find avenues for them to excel and not just sit by and accept their failures. While I applaud our government initiative of a laptop for every child, I say let there be conditions—you want to be rewarded get the passing grade! So parents, teachers, leaders let us stand up and demand that enough is enough—teach our children to fish—help them become sufficient and effective leaders of tomorrow.

 

I Alexander

via e-mail