Policies must ‘actively bring S’poreans of all backgrounds together’, says Ong Ye Kung

SINGAPORE — Despite policies put in place to carefully nurture and reinforce the desired outcome, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on Tuesday (May 15) acknowledged concerns that some schools have large proportions of students from higher income groups “due to their history, culture or programme offerings”.

“People are free to choose their friends and who they want to be with,” Mr Ong told the House during the second day of the parliamentary debate on the President’s Address. “But when groups are predominantly formed along socio-economic status – whether one is rich or poor - it is the start of stratification and that will poison our society over time.”

He added: “Our policies will need to work against this trend, to actively bring Singaporeans of all backgrounds together.”

Nevertheless, Mr Ong underscored how National Service, housing and education policies have contributed to an “organic” culture in the Republic where people are relatively blind to race, income and family backgrounds.

The Republic’s housing policies ensure that each estate has a good mix of Singaporeans from different backgrounds. National Service, as well as the educational system — where a majority of primary schools have students from all socio-economic groups — have also helped encourage mixing across different social groups.

“But we can do better, and we should, and we will,” he said, noting a “perceptible reduction in social mixing” in recent years.

Last December, a survey by the Institute of Policy Studies found that the social class divide among Singaporeans is more apparent than it seems. Among other findings, the survey showed that private housing dwellers tend to mix with people living in the same housing type, instead of those in public flats.

Several principals have also aired similar concerns in public comments and speeches over the years, Mr Ong said.

Still, he pointed out that in terms of social mobility, Singapore has “one of the smallest education underclass”.

He cited data from the Programme for International Student Assessment tests, which students in Singapore from disadvantaged backgrounds have consistently fared better in comparison with their counterparts in the rest of the world.

Universal access to good general education, rooted in Singapore’s belief in meritocracy, has helped pave the way for social mobility, he reiterated.

“We do what we can to remove barriers erected by financial difficulty. Education at all levels is heavily subsidised… Because of that, many students who would have dropped out of school were able to continue to be engaged in their studies,” he said.

Over the years, the Republic has also fostered a “healthy middle-income group” through a model of inclusive growth — with cooperation between workers, employers and the Government allowing the masses to share the fruits of success, said Mr Ong.

Singapore’s Gini coefficient (an indicator of income distribution) has narrowed from nearly 0.5 in the 1960s to 0.36 today, which is better than the United States (0.39) and about the same as the United Kingdom.

How Singaporeans’ lifestyles have changed over the years is a testament to its strong middle-income core, Mr Ong noted.

“Birthday and festive celebrations in restaurants, living in bigger HDB flats and ECs (executive condominiums), family vacations overseas — these are not enjoyed by an exclusive few, but by the broad masses,” he said.

Still, the Republic must guard against new forms of inequalities, such as social stratification, Mr Ong warned.

Drawing on his personal experience, Mr Ong stressed that Singaporeans have always been “relatively blind – to race, income and family backgrounds”.

“I used to play football at Bukit Merah Secondary School every weekend, until my knees got busted,” he recalled. “Without fail, the field would be booked every week, and whoever wanted to play just joined. So there were always strangers amongst us… No one bothered about who was from what background,” he said.

He added: “That is the relaxed Singapore way of life. This culture is organic but is also carefully nurtured and reinforced.”