3. If a school does not wish to apply for the CDA, does it mean that it has a poor character development programme?

Schools have the autonomy to develop niche areas based on their strengths. Therefore, they are at liberty to apply for the various awards under the Ministry’s expanded Masterplan of Awards (MoA). What matters more is that schools should focus on the substantive programmes to help students develop the students’ character (“the cake”) rather than focus on getting the Award (“the icing on the cake”). Getting the Award should be seen as a bonus.
At a systemic level, we need an award of this kind to highlight its importance and to ensure that we are continually developing the character of our students.