No economies of scale if schools not merged

Population growth is difficult to predict, as unforeseen events can alter birth and death rates as well as immigration numbers (Look at birth trends when planning for education, by Mr Ong Kim Lee; April 24).

Government policies may also have an impact.

We should look at the school mergers holistically (8 junior colleges among 28 schools to be merged; April 21).

Without mergers, the problems of diseconomies of scale will grow.

It is the duty of our Government to make sure every dollar spent is spent wisely, and that could mean implementing unpopular measures to improve outcomes.

Many countries consolidate schools so the state can deploy limited resources with efficiency.

More importantly, with economies of scale from these mergers, schools and students will have opportunities to conduct a wider range of programmes. Stabilised class sizes allow teachers to further expand the use of technology.

Perhaps the Ministry of Education can deploy the same teachers to the merged schools, so students will not feel at a complete loss in the merged schools.

Francis Cheng

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 27, 2017, with the headline No economies of scale if schools not merged. Subscribe