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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Priority in education for citizens and non-citizens is an either-or option
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MRS Sweta Agarwal, in her letter on Thursday ('Thanks, being a PR is good enough), has rightly pointed out that taking citizenship is a personal choice. Again, she is right that 'every child has the right to get the best education possible'.
However, she is plainly misguided in believing that while in Singapore, a non-Singaporean child should have an equal right as a Singaporean child to the best education possible. The division of educational resources, a limited commodity, becomes a zero-sum game. Priority can be given only to either citizen children or non-citizen children, but not both.
What Mrs Agarwal demands is tantamount to political suicide for any government, not just ours. Let us consider - would an Indian government ever give priority to Pakistani children in admission to Indian schools and universities?
In this case, Mrs Agarwal should bear the consequences of her personal choice in not becoming a citizen - that her child will be discriminated against in terms of educational resource allocation.
While most Singaporeans are pragmatic enough to acknowledge the need for foreign talent, this does not mean foreign talent should outstay its welcome and denigrate the spirit of citizenship.
To foreign friends in Singapore, just stick by the old adage, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', and I am sure you will have a pleasant time here.
Hoon Tze Ming
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MRS Sweta Agarwal, in her letter on Thursday ('Thanks, being a PR is good enough), has rightly pointed out that taking citizenship is a personal choice. Again, she is right that 'every child has the right to get the best education possible'.
However, she is plainly misguided in believing that while in Singapore, a non-Singaporean child should have an equal right as a Singaporean child to the best education possible. The division of educational resources, a limited commodity, becomes a zero-sum game. Priority can be given only to either citizen children or non-citizen children, but not both.
What Mrs Agarwal demands is tantamount to political suicide for any government, not just ours. Let us consider - would an Indian government ever give priority to Pakistani children in admission to Indian schools and universities?
In this case, Mrs Agarwal should bear the consequences of her personal choice in not becoming a citizen - that her child will be discriminated against in terms of educational resource allocation.
While most Singaporeans are pragmatic enough to acknowledge the need for foreign talent, this does not mean foreign talent should outstay its welcome and denigrate the spirit of citizenship.
To foreign friends in Singapore, just stick by the old adage, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', and I am sure you will have a pleasant time here.
Hoon Tze Ming
