Meritocracy In Singapore Schools: Can It Breed Inequality? | Measuring Meritocracy | Full Episode

[@MilkPudding]

The catch 22 here is the conditions of someone's birth DO determine the outcome of one's life regardless of the system as humans are different. We are predisposed to certain things. The real challenge here is not to eliminate this but to make as many outcomes as fulfilling as possible.

[@felixisaac]

I'm in total agreement. We have to identify ways to level out the playing fields as best we can to provide support to everyone who needs it.

[@sjv9147s]

You used the perfectly apt word here: predisposed. However, there are parents who can't quite accept their kid isn't academically predisposed compared to those who are. That misses the whole point because those not so predisposed may be so predisposed in other areas apart from academia. Other than STEM there are myriad types and kinds of talents: sports, music, arts and the humanities, etc.

[@lucyfiniarel2347]

We run the risk of regressing like western societies if we let the inter-generational wealth gap increase. Kids in lower income families must feel like they have a bright future and no lack of good opportunities. This documentary is good, it will encourage more Singaporeans to support initiatives and spending on children who are less privileged than others. Levelling the playing field means giving them more, and teaching kids who are blessed with more, to recognise their privilege and respect others who may never reach the level of comfort they were born with.

[@abdullahulwanammar2733]

Can't imagine how many hours were taken to produce this top notch quality and insightful discussion. Good job CNA Insider!

[@safeworld-168yjk]

Thanks and kudos to CNA, for inviting all these experts, for putting together old video footages of schools, very sentimental. Overall an excellent production.

[@eileenstacie]

I love how this documentary subtly points out the discrepancy between what the government hopes to achieve - redefining meritocracy and how laypeople Singaporeans (like the mother) rigidity prefer to stick to the old system and perpetuate the problems of the meritocracy the government tries to rectify. LOL.

[@tocino4]

PSLE is a huge machine... The top secondary schools are largely affiliated with primary schools embedded in affluent communities. As a foreigner here, i find it very odd why local Singaporeans simply assent to having 70-80-90% of affiliated primary school students automatically receive a leg-up into affiliated secondary schools thtough lower PSLE score cut offs. If this were a true meritocratic society, then the PSLE cutoffs should be the same between affiliated and non-affiliated schools. If these faith based schools argue that perhaps they need the ability to continue to nurture the character of the child, would 6 years of primary schooling not have been sufficient? And should they not open their secondary school doors to nuturing beyond a limited social circle? Do note that the Singapore population is very, very small therefore every small exception or advantage carries a huge ripple effect in the stitching of the fabric of this nation.

[@karebu2]

Oh lol. Affiliated primary schools are the least of your concerns. Barely making a ding.

[@slowcyclist4324]

Oh pls. Life isn’t fair, just accept it. Stop pretending that simply changing the PSLE score makes the playing field equal. My parents taught me very early on in life that life isn’t fair, probably the singly best lesson they could have ever taught me.

[@somerandompersonhi2028]

@@slowcyclist4324 Life isn't fair but it can always be more fair.

[@hampter7188]

​@@somerandompersonhi2028 agreed

[@y4wantstoeatyou759]

@@slowcyclist4324 did they say that only changing the PSLE score would make it equal? No, they were merely stating their observations to the problem the video was talking about

[@martinarchie2902]

To be sure, meritocracy has its merits. Jobs should go to people with the best ability. Ours should not be a society where we punish those who can invent, lead, create, take responsible risks, inspire others, even as we strive to uplift the least advantaged. We need a high-productivity, innovative economy to grow the pie. If we fail in this, the poor will be hardest hit.” Leon Perera

[@henrytep8884]

The problem is we think there’s a meritocracy, but in actuality it’s mostly nepotism and people in power who proclaim meritocracy while practicing nepotism.

[@ericpeterson6822]

Meritocracy only for the elitist because they wanna keep it that way

[@alvinmah6148]

@@ericpeterson6822 keeping things in a way that’s based on merits and keeping in things in their favour (bias) are 2 different things.

[@lotuseletre8724]

@@henrytep8884 unfortunately this is more likely for Singapore because of the relative small size of the nation.

[@lukelim5094]

Meritocracy needs a healthy does of humbleness. It is disturbing to see the amount of haughty Singaporean who think they are better than everyone else just because they are from certain schools and feel they are better as humans than other south east asia country because theybare branded as "Singaporean"

[@raym.d.1765]

I don't know how many non-Singaporeans watched this, but I as a Westerner found it very interesting. No system is perfect, but what Singapore built in a generation is nothing short of miraculous. Happiness, social inclusion, diversity, tolerance and mental wellbeing are all incredible important virtues. However, I must point out that our countries in Europe and North America started their precipitous decline when the pendulum swung from celebrating excellence, academic achievement and social conformity to mostly caring about people's feelings. Fast forward half a century, we have fallen behind the Four Asian Tigers in many respects while being more afflicted by mental health issues than ever in our history. I would caution Singapore about going down that route. Of course, culture and family structures are very different in the East and the West which is undoubtedly also a factor.

[@ramakanthrama8578]

I think the primary problem is that people believe a fair and equitable society can be achieved. It has been tried many times before and it has failed. The conclusion is it cannot be achieved by any means, there are too many variables to optimize for.

[@junsu21]

Spoken like a true right wing, American conservative. In what ways has the US “fallen behind” the 4 Asian tigers? The US economy is still the number one in the world and if you are talking about things like grades in math and reading tests, tell me when the US was ever on top? Asian countries were below the USA when they were still traditional societies and hadn’t modernized yet. You missed the whole point of the video. And contrary to your statements, the US and Europe are doing just fine. Why else would do many people risk their lives crossing jungles and oceans to get there ?

[@jamiemystery3990]

@@junsu21 @raym.d.1765 didn't say they were from America. Just that they were from the West.

[@wassup139]

Singapore is good at painting its system - whether education or governance or other aspects of the society - as flawless to foreigners, but it's not true. Once you're in the system, you will see many gaps and flaws in it. There is increasing awareness on mental wellbeing in Singapore just because there are increasing cases of poor mental health in the country.

[@wassup139]

Not to forget, Singapore's ministers are the highest paid in the world. Such a small country, yet our ministers in their ivory towers pay themselves so much. I think Obama's job is even more demanding (considering the size of America!) yet he don't pay himself so much. Our ministers should really consider contributing some of their wealth to the poor in Singapore.

[@leehyunsong7001]

Summary: is the meritocracy real when you have resourceful and rich parents.

[@LeoWDX]

Meritocracy is real, but not fair

[@3mKay]

what do you propose then ? should a parents that work hard, become successful not provide help to their child and hope that their have a better life. Like it or not, life is not fair. Meritocracy is needed but not always fair. it can't be avoided besides individual's hard work and talent, all you can is give more chances to those that lack chances

[@samernstsson8448]

@@3mKay not true, all people should be given the chance for education, and all should give education for all.

[@3mKay]

@@samernstsson8448 i did not say poor are not to be given chance, everyone should get free basic education, but obviously the rich has more resource such as tuition and tutor, you cant stop them from using their advantages. I am saying that you cant forced them to be on equal playing field, all you can do is give everyone same amount of basic education, and hope the poor study hard enough to change their situation, or maybe provide scholarships to those excellent students that are in poverty. this video is complaining about the rich able to afford tuition and tutors, hence giving them an advantage, well duh, what do you expect ?

[@jaeshiki]

yes

[@winnielee24]

When the school starts to emphasize "Parental Involvement" in the kids studies and education, that's where Meritocracy totally ends. Parents with the resources (time, money and social status) will ultimately win the race. I know of a particular rich kid who scored badly in PSLE, but managed to get into ACSI purely becoz his father's social status - a businessman. Then I also know a few kids, whose parents are in and out of jail and obviously couldn't afford to teach the kids or send them for tuition, ultimately dropped out of school in their teens. There is absolutely NO meritocracy when the responsibility of basic education is pushed to parents. I deplore our Singapore ministry for pushing parents to be so-called "allied educators", coz NOT all parents can afford to be one. Education should be left primarily on the shoulders of educators and teachers, and not parents. Parents could then spend their time more on teaching their kids other skills such as resilience and gratefulness instead of tutoring them in their studies and both end up getting stressed up over exams, which explains why there is a higher rate of mental breakdowns in our kids these days.

[@smonyboy]

yup, a secondary school principal sometimes can use his/her discretion to admit a student with lower PSLE score.

[@martinarchie2902]

Perera also highlighted the issue of inequality in Singapore society, particularly among the younger age groups. He cited a survey by OPPI that showed that while Singaporeans overwhelmingly believed in meritocracy, younger Singaporeans, especially those aged between 18 and 25, have a lower belief that Singapore society is equal and fair compared to the older age groups. He explained that many younger Singaporeans are struggling to live a holistically meaningful and purposeful life due to the intense competitiveness in Singapore, both at work and in academia, coupled with the high cost of living and housing. In addressing the need for a new kind of meritocracy in Singapore, Mr Perera acknowledged that jobs should go to people with the best ability, but he questioned whether gaps in income and economic security need to be so large to achieve a high-productivity, innovative economy.

[@tslee8236]

People feels poorer when everyone else is equally rich. Higher costs of living comes with an affluent society even if damped by imports from poorer societies. Equality breeds discontent and fiercer competition. The young are less satisfied as they are more privileged than the older generations. It is harder for the left behinds and newcomers to climb up the social ladder when more already made it to the middle class and the society is more affluent.

[@简澜]

I know people study overseas in Singapore just to attain PhD in one or two years, it's incredible (in a bad way)

[@简澜]

@@tslee8236 I feel it's more of poor management, there is absolute equality and the equality that helps people who are in a disadvantaged position. They didn't evaluate the individual circumstances of people's talent, the rich got more education investment and high quality teacher, thus they benefit more from this absolute meritocracy. Because all the social resources goes to the person who's already in a priviledged position, and neglect all the talent poor people who just don't show up because of poverty, of course they would feel more inequal in society. It's like riches get richier, poors get vicious poverty cycle, can never break out even when they are talented.

[@xxxcool2565]

​@@简澜its called democracy and a free market economy. The alternative to that is socialism or communism

[@seriousguy2160]

That's way better than a society where everyone is equally poor

[@DevinTey]

Thumb up for another high-quality documentary,

[@__squeeze]

Curious to understand - why do parent's need to volunteer to a particular school to enhance the odds of their child entry into the school? Shouldn't those parents' whose child are already enrolled into the school be the ones volunteering since they or their child are reaping the benefits from the school? Hmmm...

[@safeworld-168yjk]

Help every child reach their potentials, through various paths. Academic achievement should NOT be the only primary measurement of a child’s abilities.

[@intelmind789]

the quality of the interviewers are superb 👍

[@rommelflores2618]

SG is small but full of great documentary ideas. Always monitoring this channel for this fantastic docus, salamat!

[@smonyboy]

The supposed "good" primary schools are all located in affluent areas. A truly meritocratic system would be all primary schools being equal. Like equal equal. All primary schools have the same quality facilities - swimming pools, computer rooms, libraries, lesson programmes, etc. Don't tell us we live in a meritocratic system, when it's easier for more affluent folks can get their children into "top" schools through means such as donations, and by virtue of their postal code. Dont get me started with affiliation of top secondary schools to primary schools.

[@jeems2066]

So you say we should 'commoditise' the schools and remove any trace of uniqueness or heritage to achieve true meritocracy. All schools should have entry scores removed so anyone can enter any school. So the govt should do a forced relocation of people so rich and poor live side by side. So NUS, NTU should withdraw from all university ranking systems so that they are equal.

[@pubor7266]

Meritocracy has undoubtedly benefited Singapore overall since independence. However, it has also created a very select group of people who reap the greatest benefits from the continued pursuit of 'excellence' If meritocracy is co-related to academic excellence, those with far greater wealth and resources can equip their children. Not only are the elites firmly entrenched in their ivory towers, they are disconnected from the rest of society and more calibrated to mingle amongst themselves. This is where the cronyism breeds, where power and wealth is kept 'amongst themselves' To look into the issue of inequality, we need to address the root of inequality brought about by the creation of this select group of people, along with the problems that come along with it. If powers are retained and allowed to perpetuate without mitigation, the rich-poor rift will deepen and be passed from generation to generation.

[@Jianfa88Tsai]

Everybody wants everything, but few truly realise that our time, resources and life are limited and there is only so much we can do in one day until something unexpected hits us.

[@alvinmah6148]

The well-to-do may provide their children with good tuitions & enrichment classes, but if their children are not willing to put in good effort, they will fail their parents and themselves. We all have friends from middle income and lesser privileged backgrounds who work hard, make it to university and are doing very well.

[@williamlouie569]

The rich can always buy their children a place in university. That's unfair!

[@alvinmah6148]

@@williamlouie569 It’s the university’s problem. Try buying a place in any of Singapore’s 3 universities. See if that works.

[@Jinkypigs]

Yup, they are ascribing blame in the wrong place for without meritocracy, then the rich can really buy their way up.

[@mamemo359]

Meritocracy is still important. I just feel that the assessment and grading system, esp in pri and sec schs, need to be changed. There is quite a sizeable percentage of children with special educational needs in Singapore. For example, some children may do poorly in reading, spelling and writing, but it doesn't mean that they cannot learn or are stupid. Working with children and teenagers for over 10 years now, I see that everyone has a strength and talent. However, if their strengths and talents happened to not help them attain good scores in exams, they get downplayed so much that the children start to feel like their strengths and talents are worthless. I still believe that the way out of this is to allow students to present their knowledge in different ways. Let them practise using their strengths in meaningful ways and this will boost their confidence in themselves. Differentiated assessments for struggling students is not just about letting students do fewer questions or easier questions; it is about allowing students to use ways they are strong in to present what they have learned. Not everyone is able to write very good essay answers and in life and most work, you don't have to, so why place such a high emphasis of it in exams? The world is made up of ppl with diverse strengths and talents; schools are supposed to be a place where everyone can go and learn and discover new things and develop themselves but so much emphasis is placed on memorising knowledge to pass the written exams instead. It's the assessments that are unfair because while it helps sieve out ppl who can read and write very well for top jobs that require such skills, the majority leaves school not understanding what was school for.

[@jeromemendiogarin6279]

People will never be equal that's a fact, that is why we need leadership..Whatever forms of Government people can never be attain equality, people can succeed if they're Hardworking and Resourceful...

[@tinas8787]

IF PEOPLE ARE RESOURCEFULL THEY WORK SMART AND NOT HARD. THIS IS EXACTLY THE POINT MERITOCRACY MEANS TO DICOVER YOUR TALENTS AND IF YOU HAVE TALAENTS THEN IT COMES EASY AND IT IS FUN.

[@Jinkypigs]

The question is, without meritocracy, how much more unequal it will be. And while it is true that we should keep tweaking the system, they are attributing the blame in the wrong place. Ultimately, quality of school matters and making acces to good educations are still a keystone of any meritocratic system

[@martinlee7102]

Leon Perera acknowledged that it is important to ensure a more level playing field and social mobility but argued that this alone does not justify the vast and ever-increasing gaps in income, economic security, and social respect between those who do well in the academic and job arenas and those who don’t. He proposed a meritocracy that strives for both equality of opportunity and social mobility, while also ensuring a decent standard of living and societal respect for those who are less successful in conventional terms.

[@AhmadSyarif92]

I guess meritocracy will also has its cycle. Bad time create strong men, strong men create good time, good time create weak men, weak mean create bad time But I'll choose meritocracy all the time than aristocracy. But we have to acknowledge its shortcoming, and improve and fix it together

[@OrchidForce]

The pursuit of meritocracy often breeds self-centredness which is a challenge to a caring society

[@fedexperimental8417]

I think it is fair to say that if one has benefited a lot from meritocracy, one would not be complaining so much. However, if one has not reaped the benefits of Singapore's meritocratic system, then there is a lot to complain about the system not being fair and so on. No system in the world is perfect. Every system will contain flaws, imperfections, and unfairness. A responsible government will acknowledge these imperfections and do something about it.

[@davidnuview]

agree

[@junsu21]

There are literally successful scholars and politicians in the video critiquing the system. It’s not just people who didn’t succeed who have a problem with it. So many of you all missed the whole point of the video. “Meritocracy” is a facade. It might be a bit better than pure nepotism but it’s not great. It’s a cop-out to say that there’s no perfect system.

[@nicholasyam1828]

What is the alternative? To remove babies from parents and start from zero? To revert to strength/charisma based system?

[@havencat9337]

take away the rich people houses and put the poor in, see how their kids would do then....man you need to understand that this i not ok

[@ryantan1022]

It is true that more affluent families would naturally have the financial capabilities to send their children for more enrichment / exposure which would aid in better growth and development which does translate to more social mobility. However, case in point, meritocracy is essentially generational, individuals don’t work hard solely for their immediate self without any reasonable expectation to improve the lives of their children/spouse etc, the parents whom can afford it and are affluent made it on their own accord and deserve to be able to provide for their next generation better than other families whom are less affluent. There is nothing wrong with this and nothing needs to be done as long as in relation to public funds, it is a level playing field and resources are allocated equally, in the private realm, it is fair and acceptable.

[@safeworld-168yjk]

9:31 watch from this point onward, these experts and leaders made very valid and relevant observations about the shortcomings of the meritocracy system. Inequality can, and did arise from over emphasis on ACADEMIC meritocracy.

[@tkyap2524]

We have the tendency to be envious of others better than us. Accepting our fate can make us happier.

[@djtan3313]

Most wise, this.

[@shauncameron8390]

Exactly.

[@cjyoung4080]

how does a society improve if people just "accept" their fate.. complying with the status quo

[@ama3583]

That's kinda sad.

[@johnsonjohnson3122]

Is it wrong for parents to do use their merits to help their children? Meritocracy ensure people who have merits get rewards and privilage. Whats wrong in using that rewards and privilage? Whatever the system, society always have inequality, and you cant blame systems for that inequality.

[@HouseofPrado]

Amazing content! Thank you CNA

[@lotuseletre8724]

"When I was teaching in NUS, the 1st question was "how many words". wow what an indictment of SG's educational desired outcome

[@anonymous-3648]

the new psle grading system is an over-classification of grades. in what sense does 10 marks difference makes compared to 99th, 25th, 50th and 75th percentile grading system.

[@oberen]

Hard to say it doesn't breed inequality as it does breed inequality. I and other special students are left behind. For me, my physical disability is not that bad. But still I managed to get a normal education at a primary and secondary school. Then came the final hurdle - the exams. I failed because of my handwriting. Tried asking MOE for more time or let me use a manual typewriter. but they only gave me a fifth of what I needed. Back in the early 90s technology was not as advanced as it is today. I retook the O levels but still got a D7 for my English when I knew I could get at least an A2. Same thing happened when I went for private school education. Sometimes the minority will be left behind or neglected in the face of a system that caters to the majority. That is the fact of meritocracy or all other systems.

[@phantomsea8987]

In regards to exploring own passion, I never get the chance because when both of my parents went to work. Only my brother and myself was kept at home for safety. Never got the chance to explore because they was days before internet was wide spread. Decade later, yeah i never got anything on hand, neither education nor skill set. It's only I be curious on how internet works, led to me where I am today. I carve my own way due to giving up on 'O' level during secondary 5 and properly think about my life. Till now I still have so many things I want to know but not having resources is the biggest hurdler.

[@infj4w511]

I think the system gives everyone great education, as children who fall out on the PSLEs still get great education focused on practical jobs. I think it's good that they'll improve the system so that it won't be as dichotomous, and children still get to follow certain subjects if they fail at others. However, I also don't think that the hyperfocus on PSLEs is worth the mental issues and stress it causes. I would suggest forbidding tuition/paid education outside the system, so that every type of extra help would need to be provided by the school. This would not only limit the amount of extra education children would follow, but it would also take stress away from the home environment, where children need to rest. It would also equalize opportunities.

[@fern8580]

After a national exam, with clear rules, without corruption, only the drawing of lots is the solution to fight against ethnicity, cronyism, corruption. This should be the rule for 100% of government jobs.

[@madszwzteo5619]

The top academic students do not necessarily excel in working life. Success in career requires leadership and social skills.

[@Bulruninvests]

Nawwww come on are people really saying that meritocracy dosent exist? You are saying that there are those in ITE that are deserving to be in Ivy league schools? Meritocracy does exist. There are no barriers. People say that oh tuition is so expensive those with tuition do well…. Totally not true. I detest tuition. I have no tuition for any of my subjects and I managed to enter into raffles (just graduated last year). There is nothing stopping you if you work hard and smart. One without the other will see you failing. Those who blame meritocracy are the losers. Some would indicate stats ie how there are fewer children from those low income households who grow up to earn high wages show that meritocracy is not working. Did they ever think that it is due to the parenting?

[@dspirit2]

One danger for kids who have good grades is that society looks at them like they are geniuses. This can cause overinflated ego which can be a stumbling block to their future success. After all, most students probably got there through their grit and hard work more than just IQ. Many things in life that success is defined around, are not taught in school. The student that knows calculus best may not be the one earning the most money or have the highest position in the company later in life. Even Einstein was a school dropout. Schools mostly prepare you to be a good worker bee for your economy. It doesn't teach you how to be a successful investor or business owner and those classes of people typically earn the most money.

[@DennistheMenace2011]

You need to be both book-smart and street-smart to be successful.

[@tschoong3897]

It is a very harsh world out there. If you have to compete, it just means that you need to perform better than the next guy and if this competition is universal, then even your life can be affected. Meritocracy or any competitive system is cruel inherently. There is no limit to compete. Those who have the means and are willing to the expected hardships of extra efforts to be perfect are privileged.

[@martinbrock713]

True Meritocracy is a very noble ideal and meritocracy comes from the word, Merit. Over the years and especially during the early years of our nation-building, true meritocracy had served us well when only the truly best people were selected to do the jobs according to his/her merits. And even as inequalities and stratification are also growing, something deeper and more sinister have also been brewing too and if we ignore or pretend that it is not the case, our ostrich mentality will definitely cost our people and our country a great deal. So, what has gone wrong with meritocracy in Singapore and more specifically, what has gone wrong with meritocracy in the pap government until it has now been much weakened, much questioned, despise and come under siege by our own citizens?

[@ryugunou2534]

Sick essay question

[@Jinkypigs]

LOL. What a stupid strawman you are setting up. Much questioned and despised? Only amongst mindless, smoothbrained peasants influenced by sinister conspiracisy theorists like you. PAP ain't perfect and as a country we need to constantly tweak the system. But not in the stupid way are you positioning it.

[@s._3560]

Wasn't it that long ago that ''every school is a good school''? Why not look into constructive and positive ways of improving the performance of poor-performing schools instead of trying to tear down the outstanding schools? Besides, not everyone is the academic type. Focus on teaching them other essential skills e.g. time management skills, as well as specific skills that will be useful for the next industry that SG is planning for.

[@ocswoodlands]

Meritocracy is the correct way. just add in equality of opportunity (to the greatest extent possible). it is absolutely correct for a better student to go earning more and accumulating more wealth as long as this and other students have competed fairly.

[@Jason88215]

No one disagrees with meritocracy. The real problem is the current system doesn’t allow for real and fair meritocracy.

[@sixthsense2939]

wow, and I just watched this on youtube -- "Equity: The Thief of Human Potential - Thomas Sowell". Sowell paraphrased, "if you want to help people, tell them the truth, if you want to help yourself, tell them what they want to hear".

[@kknn523]

It's a very simple solution. Restrict any sort of referrals to positions. Standardize and fully anonymize the applicants, and score based on an objective system. For education, provide education that is A.I tailored for the individual. Eradicate crime and so on. However, the more difficult aspect is that IQ and mentality can not be standardized. That is something that can be passed on, and increase their chance of success even with a proper system. Although, I suspect that with A.I education there are careers which are lucrative which only require lower than 100 iq. Another thing to consider is the definition of success. A satisfying value creating job can be a valid form of individual success.

[@mikicerise6250]

You can improve IQ if you are brave enough to do it. IQ bar for immigrants is one tool. Subsidies for parents with above 100 IQ who have children is another way. Raising average IQ is simply a matter of incentivizing the propagation of all elements that correlate with high IQ, whether heritable or environmental. It is just that governments are afraid to do it.

[@mikicerise6250]

Education should be PvE, not PvP. It is pointless to know who is 42 out of 42 and who is 1 out of 42 if all 42 students have gotten over 90% of a series of difficult questions correct, or if 40 out of 42 students have gotten over 50% of the questions wrong. What are you measuring? Testing standards must be objective, with objective standards of excellence. You do not have an objective system if your performance depends on someone else's performance. You also need expanded access to tutoring for people who want to learn. Motivation to learn should be taken into consideration. If people want tutoring and are priced out of it, they are underserved. I believe recent developments like online educational resources and artificial intelligence will help to democratize access to learning opportunity.

[@kimneo6924]

To Dr Melvin Chan, the education system is rotting. Majority of students have to attend tuitions after school. Something is very wrong with our education system.

[@Dalphy-x]

Frankly, it’s how much tuition you can afford, and which teachers you can get, the environment that allows you to groom in vast diverse topics. Sure, there is always a 5% who thrive even without these. But we are addressing the chunk of the bell curve here. If it’s indeed merit based, no affiliations related schools, and parent support groups or parents need not pump investments into schools in the spirit of philanthropy

[@lakshmimayi]

love these type of documentaries, keeping sg in check.👍🏽😊

[@simonsimon2888]

The most damaging harms done to Singapore is promoting 'Speak Mandarin' campaign when all the schools are of one English stream.

[@lukelim5094]

Meritocracy is good. Until the people that have all the rewards become elitist and start acting snobbish and think they are better than everyone else. Meritocracy is fine. What we really need is being humble and having down to earth values.

[@bananarepublic1339]

I am all for meritocracy, but at the same time I am all in for freedom, meaning that people should be able to have the choice how they want to educate their children, instead of having the state forcing a system on their citizens. If elites want to send their kids to mingle only with elites (how ever unpleasant it sounds), or Chinese want to immerse their kids with only Chinese kids, they should be allowed to, not under the funding of the state ofcourse. Hence, citizens should be allowed to go to a private education system, instead of making public education the only option, and the government should have the right to tax however heavily it wants these private schools, to subsidize public schools to have more resources. Just an idea.

[@Qladstone]

Yes I was shocked to find out recently that Singaporeans cannot send their children to private schools.

[@shazam1522]

singapore for singaporeans, meritocracy for singaporeans first, eliminate nepotism and cronyism

[@HulakariHulakari-ju9yb]

Define meritocracy! Is different school grades a measure of meritocracy? Can meritocracy be applied in schools n exam grades? Better grades equal higher merits? By all means apply meritocracy in the corporate world. But school grades? Those scholars who believe so are not even worthy of their merits, if they have any for a start!

[@SHxxxxT]

and then in the work force, some managers don't even look at meritocracy when hiring, but nepotism and connections, hiring candidates with questionable qualifications or background.

[@raccoonanton]

When the mother said "You reap what you sow" when her child achieves the grade she wanted, that is the height of elitism. If we remove the variable of tuition, additional hours of self-work and study by parents who can afford them. Will the child get the grades then?

[@libiskit]

sounds like a full time housewife... nothing wrong with the phase, just the way she used it... quite obvious she has the resources and time

[@onlymylovable]

bc you reap what you sow is true. tuition is never enough to offset self-work, if you have the discipline to study yourself, there is no need to hire a tutor because majority of them aren't even qualified or skilled. "additional hours of self-work" is an inherent part of growing and improving oneself, why is it a bad thing?

[@onlymylovable]

china has outright banned tuition, and still has top education in the world. you think the children's efforts don't suffice?

[@raccoonanton]

Because not everyone can afford it which is the topic of the discussion as meritocracy is billed as a fair system(this may be true at the start as per what the experts shared but now?). I am just pointing out the baseline which is set by the mother(an extreme example) which I believe the producer wants to portray. In here mind, I believe that she may most likely be the one that will judge other kids because they cannot go into ACSI because their parents cannot afford to volunteer, teach or send them to squash lessons. To be fair, I am glad that the education is democratising as this topic gets more traction. The recent ACS primary shift is a good direction.

[@26183]

@@onlymylovable you'll find that there is a fair bit of sampling bias for that claim.

[@caedanteng5417]

Singapore is not meritocracy, is actually hidden aristocracy 😂

[@fhetfet6402]

in other words, corruption.

[@mawdervaart]

We have to be cautious of how we "FIGHT" against these advantages. We have to ask ourselves at what point does it stop, because once you start identifying a group of "privilege people" and start hammering at them, it starts to become very problematic and there's no end to it. First off, how do we even define privileged? Does the kid with a private chauffer something we need to worry about? It is after all an unfair advantage, when other normal kids have to take longer commutes on public transport and have less time for their revision and homework. What should we do about it then? what about students who can afford taxis? How should we equalise this unfair advantage? Ban all private cars in public school compound? What about private tuition? Should we ban ALL private tuition to equalise things just like what Winnie the pooh did in communist China recently? Kind of nutrition and food different families have? Private helpers/maids to do chores and housework? how should we equalise a million other "UNFAIR ADVANTAGES"? Sadly, the reality is people are born into different circumstances, but the most important thing is to allow the people in the lowest rungs of the socio economic ladder a fair shake at changing their lives. A small portion of the people at the bottom ending up succeeding is not an anomaly. Sometimes it's not the government's policies of meritocracy that's the issue or impediment, it's the SAD FACT OF LIFE. Who's gonna go up to that mum who speaks broken English to her child at home and ask HER to get an education and raise her kids the exact way wealthy people raise theirs, regardless of monetary resources. To my dear SG gov and all these panels of experts, occasional virtue signalling is alright, but please don't push the envelop too much and degenerate this into an issue of identity politics, or you will get unintended consequences.

[@havencat9337]

if you dont fight you dont win. i think its fair and this is the only way up for a society... like it or not

[@ericpeterson6822]

Nope the problem is when you fight for yourself and leave the rest to die while you trample on them...

[@shauncameron8390]

@@ericpeterson6822 That's not a problem. Moving forward requires a person to leave the deadweight behind.

[@halonick]

Let's put it into context. Take a heavyweight boxer vs a lightweight boxer, they both know how to fight. But will it be a fair fight?

[@redcheekgirl3434]

​@@shauncameron8390 at a macro level, society is symbiotic by nature not dog-eat-dog. The "deadweight" you refer to has its own role in keeping a society prospering and flourishing.

[@patoises]

Can it breed inequality? Of course, that's the whole point of meritocracy. But is it fair? 100%

[@ama3583]

Capitalist huh😒

[@77cmchong]

Why no mention of YFC scholars?

[@Kristina-cw2do]

11:51 Regardless of the education money can buy wealthy children, if they can compete and earn higher wages because they had quality private education, it's still fine even if "the cycle keeps repeating" because those people earned their own way. There's nothing immoral or "unfair" about that.

[@kelmen02]

even if Meritocracy breeds the so call "Inequality", as long as it done justify, that's how it should be. u don't treat the smart and the dumb as equal.

[@cjyoung4080]

if u judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree... it'll always lose or in ur case "dumb"..

[@kelmen02]

@@cjyoung4080 so we should give same treatment to the other fish that can climb a tree? well, this about hinting u belong to which fish

[@Edwin-eu7yq]

The documentary fails to highlight the inadequacies of the education system. And it is becos of these inadequacies, we have come to a situation where the rich have more resources to support their kids and be ahead of others .

[@summertech2014]

Meritocracy is not perfect. Meritocracy might favor those with more resources. But be mindful that the alternative might be far worse for the disadvantage. If we are saying opportunities don't seem equal because the rich has more resources to prepare, then lets help the poor to close the resource gap as much as possible. But we must not take the short cut to eliminate or down play the importance of standardized tests and competition in the hope of getting more equal outcome for the poor. Doing that could inadvertently destroy the principle of meritocracy. One other important point is that we want to strive for equal opportunity but we must not confuse equal outcome with equal opportunity. We must keep in mind that even when equal opportunity exists, the outcome still would likely be unequal. Therefore we must not set our goals based on equality of outcome.

[@ramakanthrama8578]

Why are elections not meritocratic ? Its the single most impactful thing where we don't see meritocracy. So we only apply meritocracy selectively which doesn't sound good.

[@ctnorth__6480]

Interesting how it developed..it started with good intentions ... However, it took rather long to come to the new 2024 policy.

[@tindrums]

If you put hurdles for the meritorius, they will migrate. We see this in India today where in some places 90% of admissions are not open to general competition. Society should be willing to lose them in order to achieve equality.

[@tinas8787]

MERITOCRACY IS ABOUT 1) DO NOT COMPETE WITH OTHER STUDENTS, COMPETE WITH YOURSELF. 2) MERITOCRACY MEANS TO PROVE YOUR TALENTS, AND TO GET THE MOST TALENTED PEOPLE IN LEADING POSITIONS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE SOCIETY. MERITOCRACY MEANS EDUCATION BASED ON TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE.

[@l0stnam312]

I feel like using the word meritocracy to describe this is so interesting and weird. After watching all of this, what I took away from it is not that meritocracy is a bad thing, but that over time this meritocratic system has slowly morphed into an economic aristocratic system because equity was never taken into account.

[@8dholland]

I like your comment, meritocracy also creates talent gluts. In meritocracy we spend a lot of time and effort trying to beat 'the other guy'. When we loose, well, where do we go? All that time wasted.

[@bixbe_sglearn]

Let us not conflate equal access to opportunity with equity. Though I like the concept of meritocracy it is deeply flawed as it does not value the dignity of all work equally. The current strike of sanitation workers in Paris right now demonstrates this. Who wants to live in a city with rats running about or dine with the stench of rotting food? In Singapore, supermarket cashiers braved COVID to do a job few of us want to do. Our societies calls them essential workers but have structures in a meritocracy that does not provide the essential equities they want and need for social mobility; If one is born into a privileged family or with innate talents, is one more deserving of success than one who was not? Does the system of meritocracy then take into account luck? There will always be cohorts of lazy freeloaders in any society but we should not let perfect be the enemy of good and throw the baby out with the bath water. Meritocracies are systems and as such, Singapore's is better than most developed nations, but it is far from perfect. And I think that a fundamental principle of personal effort (self reliance and resilience) with collective supporrt that has equity build in will carry the day. The big flaw with measureing meritocracy is that we are measuring a means to an end and it would more productive and meaningful to redefine what success means in a hyper-competitive diverse society.

[@simonsimon2888]

Children of 'English educated' parents benefitted when a child begins to talk. But, my China mother did not 'interfere' with my learning in the English Language though she speaks Hokkien to me.

[@Danji_Coppersmoke]

Solution? Alternative? Sound like mostly is about how you should "feel" rather than concrete and actionable policy. They don't even try to quantify pro and con. Mostly just hand waving arguments made for political campaign.

[@smonyboy]

prime minister got his job through nepotism, and mainstream media doesn't talk much about it.

[@nikkikhooniqi]

Government, you need to provide more funding to schools, IMPROVE the teacher to student ratio!

[@kengleetan63]

Move ACS to Tengah to make level more equal? It won't work cos after 60 over yrs of doing things wrong and gen after gen of children being brought up up Elitism attitude plus the very high cost of living, make 'those who have' looked down on those who have not. Heard of nepotism though not meritocracy!

[@DeRizzlo]

No because the world is already equal, just some people are more equal than others. Thats the way life is deal with it., if everyone was rich, whos gonna serve you food or do physical labor, society will cease to function.

[@jeromemendiogarin6279]

Equality is an Illusion people didn't realized that..

[@alfredyap14]

If meritocracy is flawed, are we going to be like Malaysia requiring Chinese to score 90% where as their Malays only need 70% to get to Medicine in University of Malaya? Ie in Singapore the deemed privileged need 90% and the underprivileged just 70%… then why would the “privileged “ still want to believe this system? Wouldn’t they migrate like the Malaysian Chinese ?

[@alfredyap14]

Where do you draw the line and who decides what is level playing field?

[@williamlouie569]

Regardless the rich has advantages, but make sure other have an opportunities to compete.

[@calt03]

Perfect

[@simonsimon2888]

The common factor here is 'passenger' for a bus driver, a train driver', a taxi driver and an airline pilot. Why is the pilot earning income higher than the other three vocations? The three transport drivers could never fly a plane! While, a pilot could easily do all the three jobs. Hence, a good education is essential for 'the best is yet to be!'

[@StormyMusic9]

The person who suggest that we should measure EQ has simply failed to understand the purpose of the measurement. Exams are meant to measure IQ to sort people into high-IQ related industries such as medicine, bio-chemical engineering, rocket science, financial modelling, software programming etc. Suggesting we should "take into account EQ" so that people with high EQ don't feel "left out" has utterly missed the purpose of a market meritocracy and the useful function of exams. For high EQ people, they do not need truly need to score in exams to succeed. They are able to do well in sales, front-line roles, entrepreneurship, influencers etc.

[@simonsimon2888]

Do you know how difficult it can be to score 'one distinction' in the University of Cambridge Examination for the older generation.

[@anastasiasabrinazuraimi6279]

The short answer is yes, because it's closely linked to capitalism. Capitalism has bred income inequality and you can't choose which income bracket you're born into. The more money you have, the higher the quality of education. It's called parentocracy.

[@heyquantboy]

@27:07, the Achievement Level system looks upside down. Why are better marks represented with a lower number? A good score should be higher than a poor score- and the AL looks upside down.

[@felixisaac]

It's the same thing as N-Level/O-Level examinations. The lower the point, the better the performance.

[@kneegear5123]

Idk what to say about meritocracy itself, but it’s really unfortunate I’ve fallen into this trap and as a result have poor self esteem and feel depressed very often

[@libiskit]

believe that meritocracy and success should add to your net worth but not your self worth. Read about jamie Dimon. Born of a rich family but he earned his own right to be privileged and had his own share of struggles. Be strong and be encouraged!

[@eternalelysium4944]

skill issue

[@leponpon6935]

Malaysia from next door and across the pond 🥺😭 and being told: "Don't cry! Man up!".

[@kimneo6924]

DSA is again for those students whom parents can afford to send them for specific training and thus excel in that area and able to get to the elite schools

[@audreygiamlayhoon]

DSA is terrible- less objective

[@SubZero-qi9hk]

Mostly an OrdinsryJoes will achieved N O NITEC HIGHER NITEC and abit far a Diploma. A Normal Joes will take up jobs like Technicians,Hospital,Uniformed grouos and some Low Level I.T jobs.

[@TMM-N]

I work hard i get the biggest price If based on race or nepotism, what is the point of working hard

[@Jeff1255]

I went to ITE Poly then Uni. I can tell u I put less effort in Uni than O levels and find it hell lot easier than O levels. Our education system really is waste time not to mention 2 more yrs in NS.

[@metalextras]

Singapore's problem is quite similar in terms of meritocracy trap, that makes people become more selfish, less self-critical, work longer hours and even more prone to acting in discriminatory ways.

[@marktn9851]

How does this work if success is achieved thru corruption? This can come in much more formation from relationships to monetary or exchange of benefits… are these merits?

[@g.o.a.t4393]

if money is the yardstick for success, society is doomed. simple as that

[@khairulhelmihashim2510]

Animal Farm - George Orwell

[@alfredyap14]

One fast way to level the playing field is ban tuition. Does Singapore have the political will like China to do so where overnight an entire after school industry is gone?

[@joshuatan9658]

these days, as long as the parents can provide internet access, most kids from the working class family would have similar starting point academically.

[@felixisaac]

While I do agree with you that you can learn everything online, it would take years to see whether the effects of online education in current primary school children from lower-income families are successful and effective. This is because online education has become more accessible since 2015, so to give a fair analysis of its effectiveness, you have to compare children born in 2015 (they are in P2 now) from lower SES and higher SES, and see if online learning/self-directed learning levels the playing field between the SES classes. Not to mention, not a lot of online materials are targeted at children aged 12 and lower. Furthermore, children from lower-income families may not necessarily have the time to teach themselves online as they may need to help with their family in terms of taking care of their loved ones, working part-time to cover expenses, etc.

[@wassup139]

I'm not talking about schools but Singapore's education system. Can Singapore's education system breed inequality? It obviously does. Children from households with the means to take private tuition outside of curriculum time get the 'leg up' as compared to children from lower income households who are not able to access private tuition. Children from higher income households also go for more enrichment classes for holistic development and boost their "CV" as compared to peers who cannot afford these enrichment classes. In turn, children with enrichment class experience have options to DSA (direct school admission), etc to "good secondary schools or JCs", putting them again ahead of the game as compared to children who are unable to afford enrichment classes and thus no option to DSA as they do not have any "special talents". Talk about equality in Singapore? BS. There's no such thing as equality. As long as Singapore is not rid of class, race, and income status differences in its population, those with more income and resources to begin with will always be ahead of the game as compared to those with less income and resources.

[@YiLim-zq9pv]

Possible to consider phasing out alumni's child placement system for nationalized primary school and relocating "top" school to the new developing estate, if relocation is not possible, consider merger of schools within mature estate into "Top" school. Remove PSLE Secondary School affiliation to Primary Schools as well, cut these advantages and open up the school to more potential students.