A topic that has been raging online for quite a while now, but
interestingly (though not surprisingly) has not been getting any
coverage in the "mainstream" local press
--------------------------
Schools shaping elitist mindset
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw04/040215st.htm
Star, Malaysia
February 15, 2004
Insight Down South with by SEAH CHIANG NEE
WHAT began as a jealous boy-girl dating complaint has developed
into a full-blown Internet debate that highlights the divisive
impact of Singapores school ranking system.
It was an innocuous message of a student from the elite Raffles
Girls School dating a boy from an under-achieving neighbourhood
school.
Few people could have anticipated anything worth to comment about,
but it provoked a Raffles Junior College student RJCdude to
call on lower-ranking students to quit trying to climb the social
ladder by dating students from top schools.
The explosive discussion pitched the present, and former, students
of top-ranking schools against those of neighbourhood schools, to
which average or below-average students generally are
streamed.
They end up at best with a diploma rather than a university
degree.
The Web debate stretched over a period of four months, attracting
more than 400 postings in two chatsites.
Cynic, who suggested that the couple break up, said: It's not
going to work out. She's going to be ashamed of introducing him to
her friends and her family.
What about the future? he asked. Will he be happy wallowing in her
shadow when she starts earning three times more than him?
Inferiority complex will soon kick in.
There also will be a great communication problem. I mean, what has
a graduate from Cornell in common with Ah Beng on the
streets?
Cordonbluu wrote of the different social class and intellectual
mentalities and the ability to provide.
The one weaker in academics will not be able to provide
nourishment for the mind and cannot engage in intelligent
discussion on politics, for example, he said.
And the more intelligent one will probably have to lower his/her
standards and eventually will degenerate to the same level.
He added this bombshell: We are afraid of genetic dilution.
Leave the RGS girl alone-lah! Leave her to other high-flying guys.
It's good to know one's limits once in a while, declared Get
Real.
One forum participant said the Raffles schoolgirl was earmarked for
higher things in life, so the guy should not spoil it for
her.
Another elite student, Super-infector, said he would never go out
with a girl from a neighbourhood school because of social and
intellectual disparity.
Declared another: You guys should know your place in
society.
But underneath all the juvenile froth is something more important
to the nation.
It raises a crucial question about character-building of our top
students.
While the education system can produce excellent engineers and
scientists, can the same be said of raising potential leaders who
are sensitive to societys needs?
The views of some of Singapores elite students are revealing and
disturbing.
They lend weight to an observation by some foreigners that the new
generation of Singaporeans is arrogant and self-centred.
One is the former Chinese ambassador here, Chen Bioliu, who said
Singaporeans need to shed their arrogance and air of
superiority if they were to further improve relations with
China.
According to her, some Singaporeans, with their superiority in
English, tend to look down on Chinese nationals.
Her comment reflects the fears of some leaders who have been
warning people they must do more to drop the ugly Singaporean
image that some neighbouring countries have of them.
One of Singapores (retired) top bureaucrats, Ngiam Tong Dow,
recently said some civil servants had behaved like mini-Lee Kuan
Yews but without his achievements.
The current crop of highly-paid bureaucrats comes from elite
colleges through government scholarships to study in the best
universities.
The consistent top two have been Raffles Junior College and Hwa
Chong Junior College.
Their academic results have been breathtaking because the crème de
la crème in secondary schools scramble to study there.
Some 80% of all government and government-linked scholarship
awardees are from the top five junior colleges (2002) Raffles,
Hwa Chong, Victoria, National and Temasek.
But if the debate is reflective of our best scholars and potential
leaders, it doesnt offer much hope for optimism in the
future.
Many come across as arrogant and self-centred, looking down on
others who are less academically capable. They seem to have a
jaundiced view of life, believing that their distinctions somehow
guarantee them success.
Not all the elite ex-students, of course, share this arrogance;
in fact a few condemn the arguments.
But there are enough of those who agree with RJCdude.
If they are insensitive to the less capable in college, can they be
depended upon to provide leadership and compassion to the needy
when they become adults?
Ultimately, the question arises as to whether the ranking system is
shaping an elitist mentality, breeding a class division in
Singapore.
Sgstvoy, who admits he came from a top school, argues that students
with limited capacity, or the lower class, exist for the service
of the upper class.
To the lesser students, he advised: Know your limits and develop
your other niche abilities for I do believe an academically inept
person will have other abilities that may not be valued by the
current system.
The arguments against these views were overwhelming, describing
them as worrying which explains why the government is bringing
in foreign talent.
No creativity, no analytical skill, arrogant and think too highly
of themselves but yet is in fact a pathetic bunch who live in their
own small little world. This is really sad, one declared.
You guys are terribly childish, said Jenn. If you think you're
going to make it big with that attitude, you're in for a big
surprise.
In the working world, nobody cares what college you come from, only
how well you perform, says another.
This thread has gotten out of control. The school ranking system
has gone all wrong.
Finally, from ex-elite ExRGS: One day when these arrogant bigots
have to step out into the real world where no one knows what your
old school name means, you will finally learn to grow up.
Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran
journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com
(e-mail: [email protected] littlespeck.com )
