Unfortunately, the MOE has the goal of giving schools as much autonomy as possible with regards to the use of the resources that has already been given to the schools. The intention is well-meaning but as I have indicated more can be done to make use of the resources available in the schools which are the envy of most countries in the world. The MOE has been very good at providing hardware or infrastructure. It is in the changing of the mind sets that they need to work harder on. Schools today behave like fortresses where outsiders are kept out. Teachers are protected from criticism.

That is strange especially when one thinks that most teachers are in government-run schools and they are civil servants. If civil servants in other government departments are subject to public scrutiny and criticism, sure the same should apply to teachers in schools. It is this reluctant mentality that is the real cause, IMHO, of the “closing” of schools. The result is the sparse communication between schools and their stakeholders and the lack of availability of teachers through the newer media like email.