The government of Singapore has announced cuts in the amount of work schoolchildren are set.

In some schools the curriculum is to be reduced by up to 30%.

The measure follows a report which found that the current school curriculum is too content heavy and should be cut back to allow pupils more time for creative thinking and other activities.

The Education Minister, Teo Chee Hean, told parliament that parental demands were in danger of pushing some children beyond their limits.

The often relentless pursuit of academic excellence, so typical in Singapore, has even prompted the government to distribute a special leaflet, listing the emotional and physical signs worried parents should look for.

But according to Teo Chee Hean, parents are often part of the problem.

"Our young must be encouraged and urged to be the best that they can be," he told parliament, "but they must not be pushed beyond the brink by unrealistic parental expectations and demands."

Ministry officials point to a growing trend among parents to force their children into extra homework and hours of private tuition in a desperate attempt to achieve better exam results.

The reduction in all school syllabuses is an interim measure pending a comprehensive ministry review of the curriculum.

According to the BBC correspondent in Singapore, local employers have complained that the absence of personal initiative and other qualities among local school leavers means they have to employ more expatriates instead.