Singapore should be proud of itself for "killing off" the Angus Ross Prize, which is given to the top A-level English literature student outside Britain.

Since the award was first given for performance in the 1987 exam, Singapore students have won the prize nearly every year ("Cambridge axes top literature prize for A-level students"; Feb 6).

Let's hope the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development will not follow suit and terminate the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) as Singapore consistently tops the ranking.

While the demise of the top literature prize is regrettable, our schools should encourage more students to read literature or the numbers taking the subject at the O and A levels will continue to decline.

To promote literature, it should not be an elective subject in schools.

Literature is an important part of our world and enriches our lives. It can also impart values and life lessons and help us understand what makes us human.

More should be done to arouse the interest of students in the subject.

Francis Cheng