If U're Poor, Life Will Kick U AND Ur Ch

[makapaaa]

<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>

Fcuked Up PAP EXPOSED! - If U're Poor, Life Will Kick U AND Ur Ch</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>

Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>makapa <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>May-26 11:13 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>8944.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Priority scheme may widen income gap
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WISH to add to Monday's letter by Ms Ho Sulin ('Review volunteer priority for P1 places') that under the current rules, children from lower- to middle-income families are disadvantaged in several other ways when their parents are scouting for a primary school.
First, I agree with Ms Ho that students from higher-income families have an advantage when it comes to parent volunteerism and monetary donations to schools.
Second, the Ministry of Education (MOE) offers entrance priority to children living within a 2km radius of the schools. Most of the elite primary schools are located in premier districts, for instance, like Bukit Timah (Anglo Chinese Primary and Raffles Girls Primary). Only a select few, like Rosyth Primary, are located in heartland regions where lower- to middle-income families live.
Third, priority is given to children whose parents had prior links to the school. Many of the children whose parents have links to the elite schools come from higher-income families.
Fourth, having gained entrance to these popularly sought schools, the siblings of these better-off children will enjoy the sibling-priority advantage.
My concern is that the priority scheme may create an unintended vicious circle.
Better-off children are more likely to find places in the better schools, where they will get better resources.
For example, the elite schools have the funds to employ teachers who are of a higher calibre. They also have more money to fund other useful educational enrichment programmes.
With these advantages, they are more likely to achieve success later in life. Would this not widen the income gap?
Calvin Ng

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[xebay11]

Work hard and earn more, move to Bukit Timah and join the elites.

 

[littlefish]

To be honest, there is not much the government or PAP can do about this. The elites will always find ways and means to avoid their offspring mixing with those from a lower social class.

In NZ, the government tries to even this out by ensuring that the greatest amount of funding is provided to schools with more children coming from the least well-off families. In Singapore, it is the reverse, the greatest amounts of resources are channelled to those identified as gifted. This is elitism at work because slowly, you will find that more and more of the gifted tend to hail from families in the higher social/economic classes. The reason is because not all children start their race at the same starting point. It is only as they go through life that you will see who are the ones who are actually the faster runners. The system we have is just penalising those who start further back or those who put on a speed burst much later.

There is no easy solution but I think the tying of prestigious scholarships to careers in the civil service should be the first to go (everything else will follow after that). All scholarships are geared only for local tertiary education. If the scholars want to use the scholarship amount for an overseas education, they come up with the extra amount necessary themselves. Saves a lot of angst on the part of the scholars and the government about using public money.

I am sure if the scholars are as good as the government claims they are, they will be able to work their way up the ranks in the civil service without needing to be identified and groomed from the beginning.

 

[cooleo]

 

[mscitw]

When wealthy minions and cronies begin muscling their way into state scholarships for their spawns, the writing is already clear on the wall.

Morever, PSC says they will give more scholarships to princelings because those spoilt brats have 'leadership' calibre e.g. ordering maids around in their homes.

Woe woe woe peasantpore.

 

[SamuelStalin]

Do you know that he is probably one of those Waterloo St beggars fronted by syndicates as reported in the papers long ago? Think he's probably the guy in mention too.