Kuala Lumpur: A Singaporean child prodigy who passed tenth grade chemistry at age seven has moved to Malaysia for higher education because his homeland is too rigid to accommodate gifted children, his father says.
Ainan Celeste Cawley, ten, gained attention when he passed the O Level — or American tenth grade — chemistry examination in Singapore at seven.
Two years later, he passed the O Level physics exam and the AS Level, or 11th grade, chemistry exam.
However, his Irish father Valentine Cawley told reporters on Monday that the Singapore government was inflexible and failed to support his son's needs to ensure his intellectual growth.
Ainan attended primary school for three years and was "bored silly", Cawley said.
In an e-mailed response Wednesday, Singapore's Education Ministry said it had sought to work with Ainan's parents to develop him "holistically to become a successful adult".
It said the ministry designed an individualised education plan to help Ainan excel. Cawley said the plan was useless because it did not allow his son to study subjects from higher grades.
"The standard school numbed his mind and put his brain to sleep on a daily basis," he said.
