Prison, as we all know is a place that houses the artisans of crime that Singaporean Society has to offer. These people practice the highest level of crime that can be offered. Arson, rape, murder, embezzlement etc are just some examples.
Prison can also be seen as the "Kunlun Mountain" of the Crime World, the pinnacle of Crime, a legendary and mystical place where many criminals, as they are commonly known, aspire to go to gain enlightenment.
How is Millennia Institute like a prison?
Millennia Institute, a school that was founded in the year 2003, merging the 2 last Institutes in Singapore that offers a 3-year Pre-University Course to students. Now it is the last remaining Institute in Singapore, a fragment of Singapore's Education Past with the merger.
Millennia Institute as the name suggest is suppose to be a new-age Institution as its name "Millennia" derives from the word 'Millennium' which according to Oxford Pocket Dictionary means "A hoped-for period of joy, serenity, prosperity, and justice" It is rather ironic as Millennia Institute is in my humble opinion, is not as the word suggest. I would liken it to the tertiary version of Prison. In the following paragraphs, I will present to you readers, evidences that it is so.
Millennia Institute (Bartley) is located in a tranquil and peaceful place along Bartley Road, an ideal location for a "prison" for students.
In the mornings, you can hear the chirping of birds, smell the fresh air as besides the school is gardens and hear the chanting of prayers from a nearby Chinese Temple. Seems like a nice place to be eh? Wait till I delve deeper into it than you will believe the saying that "looks can be deceiving". It does not help to refute the claim too as the school is rather old. The first impression that you will get when you stepped into the school is that it looks like a prison due to the old structures. I believe in a few years time, the school would be able to qualify to be a World Heritage Site. The feeling of being in a prison comes only much later when school begins.
How we lived our lives?
It is dictated by something call a timetable that we have to strictly adhere too or we will faced the consequences of our actions. There is absolutely no flexibility except the occasional swap of periods. We are told what to do, what to think.
The timetable too is unreasonably long. 45 minutes per lesson, it is 15 minutes longer than a typical JC lesson. Our days too are longer than any schools offering A levels. For example, AJC only has one long day a week ending at 1815hours, the rest of the week they do not end late at all. This is how our lives are being governed, just like in a prison. Just that they decide to be nice and call it Millennia Institute
Many a times, we attempt to run away from school as a result of this long timetable which leads me to my next point.
Security Guards & CCTVs
CCTVs were recently installed in MI to "supervise" the security in school. They were installed in strategic areas. These areas include the following.
- Both the entrance and exit gates of the school
- Back Gate
- Corridors
- Gym
- Computer Labs
Many times when I went to the Staff Room, I could see the clerks in the office looking at the monitor which I assume to be keeping a look out for runaways as there was nothing to see from the areas In which the monitors were being placed.
Prison too has CCTVs to prevent the escape of prisoners and to supervise the overall security.
Security guards would stop you in your tracks just to make sure that you are not leaving school illegally and when you are late for school, they will not hesitate to detain you. Issuing you with a green or white paper depending on your time of arrival and there you are, you are on your way to detention. Isn’t this like how a prison is? All done in the name of security. Oh how sweet sounding it sounds!
Teachers patrolling the corridors
Every morning, we have teachers that will patrol the corridors to enforce the school rule that it is SRP (Silent Reading Period) and that we are suppose to read the Newsweek Magazine and nothing else. Toilet trips are frown upon by the teachers though permitted and we are expected to return to class as soon as possible. If you are caught, be prepared for a long lecture on why SRP is important.
I mean, come on, we are being force to read? There is no logic here. By forcing we are not learning anything; in fact we will come to grow to hate it even more. Reading is something that should come from within. I love to read, especially fantasy novels but by forcing us to read, the teachers are unknowingly taking away not only my love of reading but others’ too. All these are done in the name of a greater good- General Paper. Rather ironic, one must admit
Doesn’t this scenario remind you of a prison? Prison guards patrolling the area to ensure discipline, not being afraid to scold you and tell you off because they know that there is nothing that you can do to them? Being force into doing things?
Freedom of thought though encourage is not highly recommended.
The freedom that we loved and enjoyed is taken away from us, the moment we step in there. Rendering us as puppets of the game known as "A-Levels" and the puppet masters being “teachers” where results are all that matter.
Take for example, Project Work, our ideas are frowned upon by the teachers and they imposed on us their ideas, their way of thinking, citing that it is for our sake that they do it. It could be partly true, but behind it, I believe they have a hidden agenda which is getting the best results for the school for the sake of looking good. There is absolutely no freedom of thought. It is just like in prison where you are told what to do, what to think. The entire aim of Project Work was for us, students to be creative, not the teachers. If they want to be creative, they could enroll in Project Work and do one themselves. Advisory roles are what they are supposed to play but over here they are playing the role of a team leader, not a team advisor.
As practitioners of A-levels, we are supposed to be the "Creme De La Creme" or more commonly known as "Cream of the Crops", "Best of the Best". This was a view shared by our principal, Mr Tan Sor Pang; we are artisans in our own right. Just like how the artisans in Prison are imprisoned for their arts, we too are, at Millennia except that our's is a milder version.
His point too is being enforced wholeheartedly by the teachers under him. Piling us with homework and creating unnecessary stress for students like us so as to get the best results out of us. A level is not even here yet and we are already feeling the heat.
We swap our freedom for academic excellence. Is the price worth it?
If we are tired and unable to focus, are we able to get the best results out of ourselves?
If we spend the day brooding in class and not absorbing anything, will we be able to perform to the best of our ability?
We are ones at the losing end. The teachers whine and whine about how much essays they have to mark but it just marking the same thing over and over again. They had done their part in A levels many years back. How hard can that get? Whereas for us, we have to slog and slog to churn out the necessary essays to give it to the teachers.
Who are the people that are suffering here?
We are only human. There is only so much we can take.
Shouldn’t things be taken gradually so as to avoid burnout towards the end?
This is just like how prison life is like. No freedom. No thinking. No creativity. We are taught what to think, what to do. The answers that we give are typical textbooks answers and the teachers would praise us by saying "well done". "Keep it up" one may beg to differ that we are learning something from this. Yes we are. But at what cost?
Food
The food in school is also commendable. During the first year of its creation, MI’s supplier for food is the Singapore Food Industries (SFI). This supplier supplies the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) food. It is basically a monopoly there.
In its second year, they changed the food supplier to an Indian stall that apparently has a branch in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and GT Supplier.
However, the matter of fact is that things are still rather the same. The quality of food serve is average or below average at certain times. The beehoon taste like barbed wires. The chicken like rubber, which I believe if you throw it against the war, it can rebound back to you. The rice like porridge. Now you have a rough idea of how the food is like?
Physical Education
Physical Education was meant to be fun and we are supposed to enjoy it but No, things are different in MI. The teachers believe that physical training should be tough and if one gets on their nerves, you are in for a very interesting PE lesson.
I do not see them joining us in for the PE. Rather they stand at a corner and try unsuccessfully to motivate us through their actions which are thick with sarcasm. But there are times whereby the PE teachers are nice and they could be real nice if they want to.
This PE style is much worst than what is being experience in NS. At least in NS, we do build muscles at the end. But over here? What do we build up? A hatred for PE perhaps.
All these are done so that they can retain the MINDEF Best Performer Award for the 3rd year running.
The PE Department too makes noise about other physical activities being played in school if not properly clad in PE uniform and attempts to confiscate the related equipments being used.
This is our only form of distressing. Couldn’t they be more understanding? Do they really want us to go around breaking stuffs as a form of distressing?
The PE Uniform too is of poor quality. The pants tear easily; the PE shirt is of too thick a material. And what do they ask us do if something happen to our uniform? Buy more from them. Complains that we lodge are often left unheard initially, it is only until recently that they decide to hear our complains to a small extent.
Isn’t this how prison is too?
The wardens telling you what to do and they stand at a corner mocking you. Complaints are often left unheard.
The Student Council
One thing that I must congratulate the Student Council for is their use of mass propaganda. It is simply masterful. No offence to my friends in there, but I feel that you guys are masters of this art. Take the recent Presidential Elections for example, the amount of publicity and promises of reforms that are being made by the candidates. It sounds so sweet, so nice. But how much will actually be fulfilled? None. Or just a little bit. I do not see them putting in so much effort to improve the lives of the students. The creativity used is to make sure that they get the seats in the Executive Council and not use to benefit us. In the end, it is their ass that they should be concerned about and not ours'.
So does it really matter who becomes the President? After all, they are all the same. There is not much difference. One President is the same from the other. Might as well the teachers nominate the President, as i believe they would want someone that they liked. The election speeches are also censored and they are told what to say and politically incorrect speeches are edited. The Election to me, is just a show of who is the most popular person around. A show of popularity and how creative you can get to make sure that you are the most popular dude around. Are you really a leader? Only time can tell.
This body is supposed to be the representative of the Students, to make sure that our disgruntlement is being heard so that changes can be made. But in actual fact, they are just spokesmen in the enforcement of the things that the school wants us to do. Assuring us that it is the right thing to do and that it is the best for us. Honestly, I would not vote for any of the candidates that stood for election. There is no point in doing so; it is like as if we will see if things improve. But I honestly, seriously doubt so.
Prisons have prisoner representatives too. These prisoner representatives are supposed to convey the instructions from above to the general population in there.
Note a similarity? They are could also be known as the "gang heads" that control the internal running of the prison out of the watchful eyes of the prison wardens. or under the watchful eyes of the prison wardens.
Freedom taken away in the name of Education is something that should not be tolerated. There should be a balance in both. Millennia Institute should start relaxing control over the students. We have rather talented students in our midst and our talents are not fully utilized as there is a lack of opportunities to do so and all these talents just go to waste. When the opportunity does present itself, we are limited by rules and regulations and the whims of the teachers.
Study till you drop is not the approach that should be taken. Rather. I feel that the school should start things gradual first before picking up the pace. Like this, we could avoid burnout towards the end. This is a very important year for us as we are taking our A Levels. If we burn out towards the end, who is to be blame? The teachers? Or ourselves?
Governing us like prisoners would do us no good. But rather it will create a growing sense of discontentment amongst the students.
Will we witness a People’s Power among the students?
I doubt so because the Student Council, the supposed leaders of the students would not stand up to the very people that put them up there in the first place. They worry too much about themselves. Things would still be the same.
We could never be heard. All we could do is suffer in silence. Trust me when I say my classmates and I have voice out our discontentment to the teachers on the problems that we have in school.
If only things were not so rigid, I believe that school would be a much better place to be in. I would not have likened it to a prison on the first place, but would rather look upon it as a resort.
Actually school is rather distasteful now.
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