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Critic on the Monetary Reward Scheme for Good Behavior in Students

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Since the conception of the Exemplary Character Award (ECHA) by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2012, there has been much controversy and discussion surrounding this issue by both students and parents alike. While some Singaporeans have lauded this movement, many critics have slammed this award as being too ostentatious, and plain hypocritical. This harsh criticism is not without valid reason as giving monetary awards for good behaviour can indeed result in a wrong perception on the importance of good character, encourage pretentious behaviour from students as well as place a financial burden on the Singapore government.
Advocates of this award argue that the award helps to educate school students on the importance of good values and character. This is in light of the recent complaints from parents who say that too much emphasis is placed on academic achievements in our education system and too little attention is placed on the character development of their children. Thus the advocates of this award feel that the Ministry of Education is justified in their plans to award certificates and money to well behaved children. However, is this really the right way to raise the importance of good character and values? I do not think so. In fact, there is a major flaw in the logic behind this ECHA award. By handing out certificates and monetary cheques to these well behaved children, the school is placing a value on good character, and not actually encouraging students to display good character out of goodwill. Students will then see having good character as an achievement instead of a personal responsibility that everyone is obligated to undertake.
In addition, the ECHA award has also been criticised as being a hypocritical award. Singaporean students have been raised to be extremely competitive. Be it academic subjects or co-curricular activities, students will strive

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