Heart of the Matter: The ACS move is a start but more work needed to reduce closed circles
Come 2030, Anglo Chinese School (Primary) will move from Barker Road to Tengah, and that announcement has caused a furore among some alumni. But our guests on this episode of the Heart of the Matter podcast say it's a move in the right direction.
File photo of the ACS crest. (Photo: Facebook/ACS (Primary))
SINGAPORE: When the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that ACS (Primary) will move to the Tengah estate and admit girls from 2030, Clarence Ching, 29, said he immediately posted on LinkedIn that it was a fantastic move.
Mr Ching is the founder of Access Singapore, and his non-profit organisation runs programmes for disadvantaged students. In the last four years, he has seen a deepening social divide between students who attend so-called “elite” or brand-name schools like ACS and those who don’t, he told CNA’s Steven Chia on the Heart of the Matter podcast.
He added that a recent survey on social mobility, conducted by his organisation, bears out his own observations on the ground.
"More than 60 per cent of respondents felt that schools are getting more unequal. A huge part of it has to do with proximity and alumni priority.
Here are some of the highlights of their conversation:
On the ACS move
Clarence Ching: “I think it's a fantastic move because ACS, one of the biggest social capital folks, are moving to Tengah. It is up to the (other top) schools ... do you (also) want to move out of the Bukit Timah strip?”
Dr Teng Siao See: “This ACS case shows that if you have the resolve, you can actually do it … (it shows) what they value more is the integrity and the belief in fairness. We really applaud them for that.”
Ian Tan: “A lot of us are not happy, not with the move itself … but they discussed this for a year, and they didn't think to have a dialogue with the (ACS community)? Were they afraid to have a dialogue?”
“For alumni whose kids will be going to ACS (Primary), now they have to send the kids to Tengah, if the system still exists in 2030 for direct admission for alumni. What if they are staying in Tampines for example? Are they going to move house?”
Obsession with brand-name schools
Dr Teng Siao See: "These brand name (schools) happen to be those that are very well-established with a longer history. They have (had) time to accumulate wealth, resources, networks and alumni."
People see them as giving more resources and opportunities, and that's why they're hankering after it (brand name schools).
Ian Tan: “Well-off people will have more connections, and they do teach their children better ways of getting ahead in life, right? That is also a social reality. And people who have no access to the highest social strata of society may not know a lot of things that these guys use to grow their wealth.”
Clarence Ching: "Precisely because (of this) social capital, that I don't want my kid to be exposed to it, because I think it perpetuates elitism."
Why more needs to be done
Clarence Ching: "Sure, Singapore is a meritocratic society, but it's an arms race. The ones that have more opportunities get ahead. And that's the reality of it."
Dr Teng Siao See: "(Life) will always be unfair. But I think it's our duty and our responsibility to try to give as many opportunities to the disadvantaged families and students as far as possible."
"Do we really need to compete so much? Of course, we will try to give more resources to our kids. But are there unnecessary efforts invested into it that is pressurising? Not just for the kid and for the parents, but also for society."Look at students who come from vulnerable families (who are concentrated in certain schools). (Their) insularity would also cause issues, right?
For the full conversation on what the ACS move means for Singapore, listen to the podcast episode.Â
