Share and discuss your country's education system!?

I have studied in the Singapore local secondary school. I would say that the education system is too exam oriented. For instance, in class we'll be going over exam papers because that's gonna prepare the students directly for exams. It is hardly about learning (unless it applies to the exams) nor about encouraging students to be thinking. In English class, we will work on past exam papers rather than do assignments that could deepen our passion for the English language, like writing essays on literature. Most of the teachers like to teach through the books (that is they just refer to the textbook as opposed to sharing with us interesting materials). With this kind of teaching method, it had instill in some students the mindset that they don't have to listen in class since they could go home and refer to the textbook to learn. This show the value of the classroom experience there.