Society has a role to play in keeping meritocratic system working well: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — The Education Ministry will work with Raffles Institution (RI) and other popular schools so that they never become "self-perpetuating, closed circles", said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as he stressed the need for social networks to stay "open and permeable".

Weighing in on a topic which has seized government leaders of late, Mr Lee told the House on Wednesday (May 16): "We want Singapore society to maintain an informal and egalitarian tone, where people interact freely and comfortably as equals, and there are no rigid class distinctions or barriers that keep good people down."

This is not something which the Government can bring about on its own, even though its policies and programmes "must, and do, support social mobility and meritocracy".

Mr Lee cited his recent conversation with Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, where he was told that RI — which has a strong tradition of accepting students from diverse backgrounds, so long as they make the cut — has become "less diverse" over the years.

To address this, the new RI principal, Mr Frederick Yeo, has been speaking to parents of potential students in primary schools across Singapore, to encourage them to apply to RI.

"To (the principal's) surprise, some of the parents told him they did not want to send their child there. Why? Not because they thought their child could not cope with the academic demands but because they feared he would not be able to fit in with other more well-off students," Mr Lee said.

However, the parents' fear was unfounded "because in reality, RI students still come from varied backgrounds". Just over half of the students (53 per cent) live in public housing, and all the students get along confidently and comfortably, Mr Lee said.

He added that bursaries and scholarships are readily available, and no parent needs to worry that they cannot afford to send his child to RI, or that his child will feel out of place.

"But if such a perception exists, and discourages promising students from applying to the school, it is not good for RI, it's not good for Singapore," Mr Lee stressed.

With fundamentals in place to provide quality education, home ownership and affordable healthcare, Singapore also has a strong social safety net with targeted assistance schemes, "so that those with difficulties are not left behind and forgotten".

Mr Lee added: "Above all, our education system must stay open." Places have been set aside in primary schools for children without affiliation to these schools and the Government will do more if necessary.

It is also expanding opportunities for students from different schools to interact, through sports, community activities, and the Outward Bound Singapore (OBS).

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, LIFESTYLE CHOICES MUST NOT BECOME 'CLASS MARKERS'

Any society that has been stable for a long time tends to stratify, and become less socially mobile, the prime minister said, citing the long-entrenched hierarchies and fixed notions of class and caste in the United Kingdom and India as examples.

But with social cues, markers and norms still evolving, notions of class and hierarchy have not yet calcified in Singapore, a young country of 50 years, he added. That is why Singapore schools place emphasis on teaching students to speak good English — without everyone being proficient in the language, Singlish will become a class marker, he said.

Giving the example of how a person's accent gives away his background in British society, Mr Lee said that such cues can also mark a Singaporean. "That is why Singapore schools put emphasis on teaching students to speak good English. Otherwise, those children whose parents already speak good English at home will be fine, but others will grow up at a permanent disadvantage," he said.

He added: "Without everyone being proficient in speaking standard English, Singlish will become a class marker. In other words, if you cannot speak proper English, you are 'down there'. If you can speak proper English, the doors open for you. This would close the doors on many from less privileged families."

Apart from being stamped by language, people also run the risk of being set apart by their lifestyle choices. Bringing up the recent online controversy over an unauthorised secondary school social studies guidebook that made sweeping generalisations about people from high and low socio-economic status, Mr Lee noted that lifestyle choices can become "separators in society" and "distinguishing marks".

The guidebook pegged those of a lower economic status as people who "speak Singlish, play football or basketball, and eat at hawker centres", while those of a higher economic status "speak formal English, play golf or tennis, and only eat at fine restaurants".

"Many Singaporeans were appalled and rightly so. Luckily, it was not a guidebook approved by the Ministry of Education," Mr Lee quipped.

He reiterated that lifestyle choices are divisive when they distinguish one group from another. "What you eat, how you dress, where you go for holidays, what games you play, what clubs you belong to. In every society, people have ways to show who is in and who is out," said Mr Lee. "You take one look at a person or you listen to him for a moment and you can already place him."

Mr Lee noted that there are distinctions in Singapore society too, but the general tone here is "one of restraint". "If you wear a chunky gold watch and dress flashily, instead of being impressed, people may think you are a loan shark!" he said to laughter from the House.

He added: "That is as it should be. We must discourage people from flaunting their social advantages. We should frown upon those who go for ostentatious displays of wealth and status, or worse, look down on others less well-off and privileged. We should emphasise our commonalities, not accentuate our differences."

Mr Lee stressed that while every society has an elite group, who occupy the key leadership positions in society such as the government, academia, business and the professions, these "natural structures" in society should not become closed circles.

It must not be difficult or impossible for others with talent or ability to rise to the top, or social mobility would be frustrated. If this happens, the elites will soon start to only look after their own interests, and fail in their duty to lead and care for the rest of society, he said.

Singapore has been more successful than most countries in its bid to "keep pathways open and to level people up", but it has to work harder, Mr Lee said. It must also be realistic and recognise what will not work, he noted, citing the Universal Basic Income — which was tried by Finland but aborted early — and scrapping the Primary School Leaving Examination as examples.

"In the end, the Government must focus on practical, effective policies," said Mr Lee. "As a society, we must uphold clear social norms that minimise social barriers and encourage mobility, so as to keep our meritocratic system working well for all Singaporeans."