Why scoring As is vital

I REFER to the letter “Education is more than just scoring As” (The Star, April 10). First of all, we need to ask ourselves why parents push their children so hard to get good grades in school. It is simply because parents want the best for their children. They want to prepare their children for life in the dog-eat-dog world out there, so don’t blame them – or the teachers, for that matter.

There really is a vicious world out there, which is why our society is very kiasu about the As. To secure scholarships (be it from the government or private companies) for tertiary education, students need to have very good grades. It is explicitly mentioned in advertisements that they need to have a certain number of As just to qualify to apply for scholarships!

So where does an average student go? To the National Higher Education Fund Corporation, or PTPTN as it is popularly abbreviated. And even then, not all of them are guaranteed a scholarship.

When it comes to applying for jobs, many advertisements, including from government agencies, specify that candidates need to have a certain CGPA to apply. Employers have this notion that only applicants with excellent grades are able to do the job.

A candidate’s calibre is measured by the high score achieved in university while the ones with lower grades are considered less intelligent.

If they are lucky, the latter may be hired by medium or small companies where the salaries would be lower.

Employers of big companies need to understand that they must also consider applicants with lower scores. They must realise that only when they do the actual interview would they be able to truly gauge a candidate’s potential.

Lower scorers may sometimes have better potential when looked at in totality. Even Winston Churchill was considered a failure after the Gallipoli campaign during World War I. But as prime minister, he boldly led Britain to victory in World War II.

Let me share my son’s experience. He graduated with a second class lower in Accounting and Finance.

At the university’s career fair, he lined up for a pre-interview at an established audit firm’s booth. When his turn came, the firm’s representatives asked him for his grades. After hearing his response, they told him outright that his grades did not meet their requirement and turned him away.

He was not even eligible for the pre-interview! To the firm’s representatives, the candidate’s potential did not matter; all they wanted was paper qualification.

Employers don’t seem to realise that some candidates may have other potential although they don’t have the grade requirement.

The experience showed my son the real world out there.

So, until attitudes change, excelling in studies and scoring a string of As is still very important. This is the reality.