Ex-teacher questions S’pore parents’ obsession with elite primary schools: ‘I couldn’t care less’

A real estate agent who used to be a teacher has posted a video questioning parents’ preference for elite schools, claiming that he “couldn’t care less” if his daughters attended one.

Prab Nathan, who was formerly a teacher for almost a decade, posted his now-viral Instagram reel on July 3.

In it, the realtor shared that he has observed how Singaporean parents “obsess way too much” over getting their children into ‘brand name’ primary schools — sometimes doing “crazy” things to guarantee a spot for their children.

“Moving house, sometimes uncomfortably for all of them, pay hundreds of thousands more, volunteer for years, fight over addresses, lose sleep, and sometimes even sacrifice their sanity,” he explained in the video.

Prab also shared that he had been a student and teacher at Raffles Institution.

While he acknowledged there was nothing wrong with parents wanting to enrol their children in elite schools, the realtor cautioned that being a student of an elite school does not “magically” instill discipline, kindness and resilience.

“A top school definitely cannot create a love for learning if nobody around them loves learning either,” Prab said, adding that he has seen parents who have become more “hands-off” once their child entered a brand name school.

In a follow-up video posted on July 4, Prab shared that he had plans to enrol his elder daughter — now six years of age — in Junyuan Primary School, after hearing about its supportive teacher culture through the couple’s networks and even his Instagram followers.

“Some of them say they’re still in the parents’ support group long after their kids have graduated...as the school is very supportive,” he said.

Speaking to Stomp, Prab shared on July 5 that he created the video after having conversations with his wife, who is a primary school teacher, and fellow parents about primary school enrollment.

“We came from normal primary schools and we’ve made a life. We know students who go to very good schools and then get burnt out and then have all kinds of issues,” he said.

He added that he knows of parents who planned for their child’s primary school education from as early as two years old, and wondered if it was worth the trouble.

‘Branded’ school helps with networking?

His July 3 video has since chalked up more than 95,700 views and sparked much discussion in the comments section.

Many comments were supportive of Prab’s views.

“Your kids must have found you to be the coolest teacher. I can feeel it 😂🔥” wrote one commenter.

“Awesomely said,” wrote another.

One commenter pointed out that “a branded school helps your child to network with their peers”. He was not the only one to cite networking as an opportunity presented by elite schools.

Prab told Stomp he found such comments baffling and questioned the need for children to network in primary school.

“What is the network? And what kind of network are you building?” Prab asked, noting that elite school networks tend to be “homogenous” and lacking in “mixing and diversity” in his experience.

Ultimately, Prab feels that beyond the choice of schools, parents play a critical role in their children’s education and need to be actively involved.

He argued that this does not equate to “helicopter parenting”, where parents hover over their children constantly.

“Just knowing what your child is doing and trusting them, giving them motivation to build resilience,” he explained.

“(For kids to) thrive, you need a healthy relationship from day one. Make sure they know you care about what they’re doing.

“That ecosystem is what’s needed.”

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