Meritocracy again?

Recently, there has been debate over meritocracy in the newspaper opinion columns. Nominated MP Ang Wei Neng had sparked debate with his statement on how “Fewer than half of the students in top schools Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls' School now come from "non-elite" primary schools.” He gave this estimate when preaching about bridging the gap between people from “elite” and “non-elite” schools.

To address concerns about the failings of our meritocratic system, where students from more affluent family background are given a head start, he suggests that principals of “non-elite” primary schools nominate one deserving student from their school to enter a top school.

Can we solve the issues in meritocracy? It is hard to solve the divide that money creates without leading oneself into a conclusion that sounds too much like communism, but it cannot be said that nothing has been done to combat this issue. Meritocracy was initially a term coined to parody aristocracy, where the elite are chosen not based on royal blood but by IQ and effort in a standardized stream. While it seems that this may be the route that Singapore is heading towards, it is not right to say that the government has provided alternatives that Singaporeans choose to ignore.

There have been an increasing amount of students opting to go to polytechnics instead of Junior College, especially when a specialized degree is not necessary in their future career. Many Singaporeans seem to hold on to the mindset that the only route to success is academia and they fail to see other routes, such as arts or commerce, as viable routes for students who do not have inclination towards academia. With all students clamouring for a spot in a top school, there exists a divide between schools deemed “elite” and “non elite”, and many take turns to snipe at “elite” schools for breeding elitism and supporting social class divide.

RGS has pupils from over 100 different primary schools entering her gates every year, and it seems ridiculous that such schools are branded “elite” just because they accept students with high PSLE scores. Rewarding someone based on their ability and effort is good systemic base to fall back on and implementing policies that, while with good intentions, stray from the ideals that we have put in place will open cans of worms that had not existed. The government has tried to make education the basic route of social mobility, trying to give all Singaporeans and equal starting point, but difference brought about with wealth will exist in any system be it arts or academics. The new generation has begun to explore career paths outside of academics and it is a good possibility that we will see more diverse opportunities for social mobility in the near future.

Then again, while some countries fight for gun control and their citizens suffer from military coups, we are fortunate to be debating over problems of top schools.