explosion of moral conscience. Rather,
educational expansion was necessary
to tap on the latent talents of the
lower class and ensure a country’s
economic prosperity – meritocracy
gave everyone an equal opportunity to
jobs that were concomitant with their
abilities.
One of the most important points about
meritocracy, according to Associate
Professor Jason Tan from the National
Institute of Education, is that it never
promised equality of outcomes. “Many
people are confused about the concept
of meritocracy and, to be fair, it is
hard to wrap your head around it.
Meritocracy essentially guarantees
unequal outcomes! However, it also
promises that inequalities will be
distributed more fairly,” says Tan.
Meritocracy was attractive, however,
because it was both fair and efficient
and ideally, ensured that everyone had
a chance to showcase their talents.
More and more though, the principle
of meritocracy, and the core concept
and attraction of secular Singapore,
is being supplanted by elements of
parentocracy, which is the third wave
of education.
WELCOME TO AN UNEQUAL WORLD
In a nutshell, parentocracy is when
a child’s education is increasingly
dependent on the wealth and the
wishes of a parent rather than the
ability and efforts of the child.
Parentocracy is not a phenomenon
exclusive to Singapore. In any
competitive first-world country that
uses examinations and grading as the
main mode of assessment, parents
have been pouring their resources
and leveraging their social capital
to ensure that their child gets a
competitive advantage against his or
her fellow peers.
The problem is especially
pronounced in our country
though due to two factors:
our high Gini coefficient, which
exacerbates the haves and the
have-nots, and our dogged,
almost unhealthy, focus on
streaming and classification.
The large income chasm
between the top and bottom
ends of our society magnifies the
problems simply because those with
the wealth, the resources and the
time will pour as much as they can
into their child’s education. From then
on, it is simple economics – demand
grow