The Class Divide Only Gets Worse In Our Schools “If you have the most expensive things, you’re the most popular also.” This is how one lower primary student feels about the rich and the poor in her school. So what exactly was “expensive” to the student? Smiggle pencil case, Smiggle bag, whatever Smiggle. Commenting on this, Dr Janil Puthucheary — head of OnePeople.sg — noted the stark differences from his own childhood. As a child, his social groups were formed based on one’s athletic capabilities. But things today are very different. Primary school children today group themselves based on the wealth of their families–a worrying trend that highlights the rising class divide in Singapore. #RegardlessOfClass survey This interview was conducted as part of the #RegardlessOfClass survey–a collaboration between OnePeople.sg and Channel NewsAsia. Their aim? To discover what Singaporeans felt was the likeliest cause for a social divide here. According to survey results, as many as 50% of respondents indicated that income inequality was the likeliest to damage Singapore’s social fabric. This was a sharp contrast to other factors like race and religion, which was only indicated by roughly 20% of the participants, each. A 48-minute long documentary complementing survey has also been […]
6 years ago
