Compulsory Coding Lessons Will Be Rolled Out To All Primary Schools In 2020

I remember what I had to study at primary school.

English, Maths, Science, Chinese.

These four simple subjects were relatively easy and allowed for a smooth education for me as a kid.

But these days, even primary school kids aren’t spared from the rising competitiveness of the society.

The syllabus has gotten tougher and their questions have seemingly gotten so ridiculous that they stump even adults, hitting the news or going viral on Facebook on multiple occasions. All of these appear to be measures to better prepare the children for adulthood.

And now, to keep up with the new digital age, the government is throwing in yet another “preparation”.

Coding Classes For Primary School Kids

This change was announced by the Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran at the Ministry of Communications and Infocomm (MCI) work plan seminar on Wednesday (10 July).

This is a measure to facilitate a digital transformation of our future workforce to keep up with the evolution of technology.

While it was originally an optional programme that was first introduced in 2014, it will be rolled out as a mandatory class to all upper primary school students starting next year (2020).

It will involve only basic coding and technologies such as artificial intelligence, so fret not. There won’t be mind-boggling university-level advanced programming stuff for the 10 to 12-year-olds.

A 10-hour Code For Fun enrichment programme will also pilot this year at some schools after the PSLEs.

Inclusive Digital Society

New measures include more than just primary school education, as the government aims to include everyone in the “digital transformation”.

MCI Minister S Iswaran stated in a quote:

“We want this digital transformation to be inclusive so it’s not just about digitalising our economy, but making sure our enterprises, our workforce and all our Singaporeans are able to reap the benefits” 

Other measures include a cybersecurity programme (SG Cyber Youth), which will be introduced for students from secondary to tertiary level in order to enhance their relevant knowledge and skills.

There will also be a hundred Merdeka Generation Digital Clinics set up over a one-year period (starting in September), which are expected to benefit over 10,000 seniors with skills that include the usage of smartphones and social media.

With the digital revolution ongoing, I’m quite glad that our government is taking measures to prepare us all for this journey ahead.

I also believe that they wouldn’t throw anything too hard in the way of our kids’ education.

What do you think?