Kuala Lampur, June 16 -- I apologise for the weird headline but I think it's an important question.

I've been working for more than 25 years in the education sector. I've seen the stress, the pain, the "obsessions" and not least the pressures that parents place on students and students place on themselves.

I've had parents sit with their daughter in front of me during Parent-Teacher Day and basically court-marshal the poor girl for not doing better than a C in Geography.

I've heard stories from counsellors (and sometimes even HR) about the depression, the self-harm and the breakdowns.

Hence my original question (posed to parents mainly): How do you view education? Is it a life-or-death matter? Is it as critical as disarming a bomb pla...