I am writing to highlight my personal experience when helping my primary school child with mathematics.

I feel that the maths textbook should be revamped, and the way the subject is taught, as well as the Ministry of Education (MOE) syllabus, can be improved.

For my child, the maths textbook is hardly used in school. It is too simple. There is nothing in there about the concepts and heuristics that the pupils are required to master.

These concepts and heuristics are briefly covered in class, and the handouts given to the pupils are too brief.

The pupils are neither trained nor expected to take down lesson notes in entirety, and therefore, they have very little to rely upon to revise their lessons.

These concepts and heuristics are the forte of tuition centres; even the assessment books sold in bookshops are not up to scratch.

The authors of the maths textbooks should take a look at the learning materials prepared by these tuition centres, and incorporate the very well-written theories, explanations and worked examples into the textbooks.

The syllabus published on MOE's website is equally brief. I would appreciate it if the syllabus lists down all the concepts and heuristics that students are expected to know and could be tested on.

Parents, especially those who are working, are often left clueless. Neither the textbook nor the syllabus can tell the parent what is required.

Out of despair, many parents will send their children to tuition classes. The time and money spent on these classes add to the tremendous stress students and parents are facing.

MOE has taken some steps, such as tweaking the Primary School Leaving Examination scoring system and abolishing examinations in Primary 1 and 2.

I urge MOE to go deep into understanding how every subject is being taught and the learning materials provided, both in schools and in the leading tuition centres.

I would welcome MOE to publish more specifics in the syllabus for each subject.

I remember fondly the O-level and A-level syllabus printed on the front pages of the Ten Year Series we used to swear by, as well as the clearly defined "Body of Knowledge" prepared by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute for candidates preparing for the CFA examinations.

I sincerely hope that the above changes will come in time before my children complete primary school in a few years.

Yap Chee Wee