Singapore is 3rd in amount of time spent on Homework

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/education/story/singapore-ranks-third-globally-time-spent-homework-20141225

We really need to salute our Singaporean children for working hard in terms of homework. Singaporeans rank number 3 in terms of the most time spent on homework. 15-year-olds (around Secondary 3 level) clock around 9.4 hours of homework a week, above the global average of 5 hours.

Based on personal experience, students from top elite schools definitely spend much more time on homework. For example, based on my experience as a student and a teacher, it is not abnormal to spend up to 2 hours a day on homework, leading to 14 hours a week of homework.

Students in South Korea actually spend fewer than 3 hours on homework each week, but this is highly suspicious, because the Hagwon culture (cram school) culture in South Korea is very widespread. Hence, though they don't spend much time on homework, they do spend a lot of time on other academic pursuits (tuition, enrichment, etc).

The problem with excessive homework is when students have to sacrifice sleeping time to complete their homework, leading to sleep deprivation, which is very bad for teenagers and even adults in general.

In conclusion, a balance on the amount of time spent on homework is definitely needed.