Meritocracy II
Meritocracy has always been a concept that strikes my interest. Here is another brief batch of what I've been reading.
- Enraging: You have met the bare minimum academic requirements for your course of choice in Cambridge - unfortunately, by other metrics of merit, you have failed to make the cut (the cut-off grade was also more demanding than the minimum requirements) and have been denied a place. But that's alright. You've got money, and the government may be formulating a plan to encourage your entry into your dream school since you've got money. Screw merit, right? Money is the new merit. - Richest students to pay for extra places in Britain's best universities, The Guardian, 9th May 2011. This is ridiculous and disappointing. If education is to remain a key driver to social mobility, this policy shall be the epitome of this ideal's erosion.
- Curious: Dr Ng Eng Hen's speech (7th March), while certainly PR and not sufficiently wholesome a representation of education & social mobility, presents some interesting figures that is worth further exploration. One figure in particular - that the top 5% PSLE scorers consistently do not come just from top schools - is at first comforting, but frankly not surprising.
I can't agree much about having sufficient teachers across all subjects though (I don't see that particularly as a fault of the Ministry, given this issue is much more multi-faceted). The role of education, to me, is opening doors. Sam's brother, Nicholas excels in Literature but unfortunately cannot take the subject for O levels in his own school because they do not have Literature teachers for that level. As such, he has to take the subject as a private candidate. If you have taken pure literature, you will empathise; it is not an easy subject to grasp without guidance. Why should the lack of teachers close doors for students? Most of the autonomous and independent schools in Singapore have greater breadth of options because they have the resources to provide these opportunities. But alas, you do have to first make the cut for these schools. In Singapore, meritocracy is life-long; with few exceptions, "academic mobility" is challenging.
