Education Minister Ong Ye Kung Tackles Hot Topics About Education In Meaty Parliament Speech Mr Ong Ye Kung gave a wide-ranging speech outlining the key principles of the education system in Parliament on Wednesday (11 Jul). He makes some salient points about the state of education in Singapore, but leaves a trail of unanswered questions in his wake. You can read his lengthy 3700-word speech read in full here. If you’ve only got about 5 minutes to spare, browse through our summary below. 1. Meritocracy & inequality are paradoxes Mr Ong is of the view that meritocracy seems to have paradoxically resulted in system unfairness. Talent and ability are prized over wealth and circumstances of birth — a system which worked for the pioneer generation of Singaporeans. But that’s not the case anymore. Now, families spare no effort investing in the next generation — like enrichment classes for child starting at a tender age. Thus, they are being pushed off blocks from different starting points, with students from affluent families having a headstart. Secondly, as government uplift poorer families, the group that remains poor are facing increasingly difficult challenges. These are translated to their child’s performances in school — resulting […]
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