SEPTEMBER 29 — I’ve been in the education sector more than two decades. What always surprises me is how many folks (especially parents) draw a strong causal line from “school performance” to “career success”.

As if doing great in school automatically and infallibly produces what society outside of school needs.

But maybe it’s time to remind ourselves why this may not only be untrue, it may actually be the opposite.

Because school respects certain qualities NOT highly valued outside of school (especially in the corporate world), anyone who unthinkingly believes that doing well in one domain surely leads to success in the other domain could be in for a shock.

So let’s look at a few key differences between school and non-school.

First, age lanes.

From kindergarten to secondary (and sometimes even university) students are grouped according to age.

Almost the very first thing a parent is asked if she wishes to enrol her child in a school is how old the child is.

But in the real world, other than for EPF withdrawals and retirement, nobody really cares do they?

In school, seniority in years is automatically respected but it’s almost a non-factor elsewhere.

All over society people who are years (sometimes decades) apart work together, with the authority and the learning sometimes flowing both ways.

Second, permission seeking.

In school, doing things without first informing (let alone obtaining clearance) an authority figure is practically anathema.

Every “step” or stage in school is monitored, even when answering nature’s call. We sometimes see this in the corporate world as well when people get uptight over the right template or format or what-not, when there’s “paralysis” because nobody dares to make the call to solve a problem a certain way because, uh, they don’t want to get into trouble.

Needless to say, to take the initiative, to make bold choices and act without prior approval is something only the very best attempt.

It’s ironic that, therefore, in school the “very best” are not taught this bold virtue.

Closely linked to permission-seeking is, of course, rule-obeying.

In school, the biggest crime is not doing what the teacher says must be done. Or doing what is prohibited.

But in the real world, success often results from taking risks no one else would, from daring to do what is frowned upon.

Institutions naturally demand consensus; making a strong difference in the world often requires courage to go beyond what everyone’s doing.

It sometimes gets worse as students may be asked to follow rules sans any questioning; do you think people who behave like this in their adult lives will go far?

Fourth, and especially in Asia, individual performance is prioritised over and above team collaboration.

Even in 2025 many forms of school assessments seem more suitable for hyper-introverts and make almost no concession for teams working together.

Could this be partially why so many people in office find it hard to work with each other? Could this situation be remedied if collaboration was a more formal discipline in school instead of being largely optional?

Finally, regurgitation and “being correct”. School valorises anyone who can produce the “answers” correctly and on time.

Outside of school, sigh, we don’t always know what the questions even are, do we?

The best post-school are those who can anticipate, predict, navigate and move forward into the unknown.

They are the ones who welcome deviations from the SOP, problems with no “predefined” solution.

Should we thus conclude that school isn’t important? Alas, only someone who’s never worked or struggled in the real world would think that.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.