Do children from less well-off families still have a good shot at doing better than their parents? Insight speaks to experts about the Prime Minister's recent frank admission that Singapore society is stratifying, the challenges on the ground and efforts to address them
By Cai Haoxiang, Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 28 Oct 2011
IT IS a dire prospect that the Government has warned about for decades. Now, by the Prime Minister's own admission, it is already taking place - social stratification, that is, the division of society into different classes or social layers.
In Parliament last Thursday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not mince his words, saying: 'Our society is stratifying.'
He summed up the problem this way: 'The children of successful people are doing better, the children of less successful people are doing less well.'
The worry is that Singaporeans are becoming trapped within the socio-economic bracket of their birth, and finding it more difficult than before to move up.
The hardening of social strata has been warned about for years.
Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong spoke about it at least twice, once in his 1995 National Day Rally speech and again in 1999.
In 1995, he said children of successful parents tended to be more successful. 'We must make every effort to remedy wherever we can this natural tendency towards stratification,' he said then.
In 1999, Mr Goh drew a distinction between heartlanders, who made their living here, and cosmopolitans, who spoke English and had skills that plugged them into the global market.
'If cosmopolitans and heartlanders cease to identify with each other, our society will fall apart,' he warned.
This January, social mobility was back in the news when then-Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew revealed that in elite schools like Raffles Institution, at least half of the students had fathers who were university graduates, compared to around 10 per cent in neighbourhood schools.
In March this year, then-Education Minister Ng Eng Hen gave a more upbeat assessment of the situation.
Speaking during Parliament's debate on the Government's Budget, he cited statistics to make the point that social mobility is alive and well.
Half of the pupils in the bottom third by socio-economic background scored in the top two-thirds of their cohort in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
'Gratifyingly, our data affirms that the Singapore Story continues for this generation,' Dr Ng told the House.
A shift in stance?
NATIONAL University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser says what PM Lee said in his speech last week amounts to an admission that 'mobility chances are not the same across classes'.
Assistant Professor Irene Ng of the NUS social work department discerns a shift in the Government's stance.
She says: 'Before, I think they were emphasising that we do have mobility. Now, I think there's recognition that mobility is limited for the people at the bottom.'
Former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin agrees that the Government's position seems to have shifted in the six months since Dr Ng Eng Hen's speech in Parliament on the same issue.
'This demonstrates how much rethinking had been done. The same facts presented then and now generated a different conclusion,' he says.
Mr Zulkifli notes that the Government has always helped the most disadvantaged to move up in life.
'But now, PM Lee is suggesting that we need to broaden that help. It's not just the disadvantaged any more, but even people who are not-so-disadvantaged, who need to be put on the same starting block,' he adds.
People's Action Party MPs say there has been no dramatic change in the Government's stand on social mobility, but there is now a sense of urgency about addressing obstacles.
Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng says: 'Singapore has always stood for social mobility. But I think there is a shift in emphasis and urgency.
'It is important that we have an honest conversation about the widening income gap and tackle head-on concerns over social mobility. If left unaddressed, it will breed resentment at the bottom and undermine trust in our open and meritocratic system.'
Mr Seah Kian Peng, chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development, Youth and Sports, agrees. 'The previous debate was about how there are good stories to share, good testimonies, with the statistics reflecting that our current system allows such mobility.
'Now PM Lee is talking about the other side, the half-empty glass - about the people who are not making it and how, going forward, things will get tougher and tougher,' he says.
As some observed during the March debate on social mobility, the statistics cited by Dr Ng can be interpreted differently.
Dr Ng said that one in six pupils in the bottom-third socio-economic bracket scores within the top one-third in the PSLE. But that means five in six do not.
Dr Ng also said that among students from families living in one- to three-room HDB flats, almost half progress to universities and polytechnics - a figure that held steady in the past decade even as the number of Singaporean households living in such flats fell.
But the share of these students who make it to university is one in 10 - significantly lower than the national average of one in four.
Left behind by a globalised elite?
OBSERVERS say that a stratified society leaves children of less-educated, less-wealthy parents uncertain of how to survive in an increasingly globalised world, due to the lack of knowledge about careers and life directions.
These children are left in the lurch even as their peers do well in school and secure plum internships and jobs.
Minister of State (Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli says that those 'who have arrived' can give their children career guidance.
'They can support their children's aspirations in a challenging and open society. For example, if my children want to study engineering, I can tell them how versatile the path is or I can say, I have friends in this field, why don't you get an attachment with uncle so-and-so. You have that kind of ability in your circle of friends.'
Mr Masagos, who trained as an electrical engineer, says he could not have got that perspective from his own father. 'He was a technician, and was just happy that I passed my exam.'
Academics have long recognised the importance of social networks. As NUS sociologist Vincent Chua notes, higher-income families 'tend to have ties that are more leveraging, influential and global' - and which can give their children a head start.
A concrete example is the use of alumni networks in elite primary schools, he adds. Children gain admission based on their parents' ties to the school: a practice in which present outcomes are determined by what has gone before.
Mr Zulkifli points out that children of better-educated, wealthier parents tend to travel the world from a young age and are exposed to different views. That gives them an edge when they apply for jobs in multinational companies.
'Companies today require somebody young, talented and globally aware. If you don't have that kind of exposure, you will be left behind,' Mr Zulkifli says.
Ms Ng, the MP, says that children from higher-income families enjoy a huge head start due to 'more ample resources and a home environment which encourages learning and which cultivates high expectations in their children'.
Preschool education is one area where the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.
'Now the entry point is like five levels up for the richer kids, who attend a host of enrichment classes, study at expensive, elite preschool centres and come from a home environment which encourages learning,' Ms Ng says.
Academics note that such early differences are amplified by Singapore's practice of streaming at a young age.
Dr Chua says: 'The earlier the streaming, the greater the influence of family background.'
Dr Ng, of NUS, notes that streaming is intended to keep the workforce competitive, but it may have unfortunate consequences for mobility.
And these early differences may widen - just as how getting into an elite primary school may increase the chances of getting into a good secondary school.
Observers warn that a stratified society risks becoming a divided one.
Ms Ng, the MP, warns that if people in the lower strata find it difficult to move up, they may lose faith in a core principle of Singapore society, meritocracy. Singaporeans understand that to mean that the best jobs and largest rewards go to the best and brightest, and not by virtue of how rich or well-connected someone is.
Ms Ng says she has seen young people from poor backgrounds who are discouraged by the many hurdles they face in their struggle for a better life.
'They become victims of low expectations. They feel that society looks down on them. The danger for some is that they then turn to gangs to win respect and acquire self-esteem,' she adds.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari warns that 'stratified societies can be fertile ground for social unrest or political upheavals'.
He cites as examples the class- based protests in Bangkok last year that left more than 80 people dead, as well as the 'Occupy Wall Street' movements around the world which have sprung from people's anger over growing income inequality and social injustice.
Social transfers and beyond
CURRENTLY, Singapore has an array of organisations and schemes that help boost the chances of a child from a disadvantaged background.
The four community self-help groups run reading and mentoring programmes. The Community Development Councils provide social assistance. The National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation reaches out to youth at risk. The Workfare Income Supplement scheme boosts the incomes of older, low-income Singaporeans. Grassroots groups in each constituency give out scholarships and bursaries.
Dr Ng, in his speech in March, said that education remains the best social leveller. Close to 99 per cent of each cohort complete 10 years of primary and secondary schooling, one of the highest completion rates in the world.
Over the last decade, funding per pupil in primary schools rose by 110 per cent to almost $7,000 last year. In his speech, the Prime Minister highlighted the Learning Support Programme to help Primary 1 and 2 children who lag behind their peers in English and mathematics.
Mr Zainal, who is a former educator, cites how 'there is a lot of funding given' to schools to help children from low-income families, to buy a personal computer, for example.
'I've used discretionary funding to help pay for transport to ensure the child can come to school. But what I cannot do is to bring the child to school,' he says.
Promoting social mobility is not just about income transfers. Mr Zainal says there is also a need to look at 'building better families'.
Ms Ng believes that lower-income families need 'moral support', not just welfare handouts or free tuition.
Her constituency holds parenting talks and free reading programmes for children, with stories which stress values, character and hope.
Society must care
THE work of improving social mobility cannot be done by the Government alone.
Associate Professor Tan from NUS names three assets which improve one's social mobility: economic capital, or money; social capital, or personal connections; and cultural capital, which includes knowledge, experience, and the ability to fit into society.
The Government can help mitigate a lack of economic capital. But social and cultural capital are harder to equalise, he says.
Many children from lower-income families could do with volunteer mentors to be their 'role model, resource person and cheerleader', he says.
Mr Masagos agrees. 'We need people whom children can trust and talk to. Society must care, and the Government cannot do it alone.'
Dr Ng, of NUS, argues for a more radical approach. Social stratification does not result just from specific disadvantages such as the lack of tuition, she says, but from the economy's wage structure. By that, she means the large gap between the wages of those who graduate from universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
'The ITE grad needs to be able to get wages that are not too dissimilar,' she says, even if they have lower- skilled jobs.
The belief that hard work leads to success for everyone also needs moderating. A lack of success is not always due to personal failings, says Dr Ng.
'We should recognise that the bottom group is trying hard, but there are lots of challenges for them,' she adds.
At the same time, some MPs say Singaporeans have to moderate their expectations and recognise the cold, hard fact of slowing mobility.
Minister of State (Finance and Transport) Josephine Teo notes: 'With the economy maturing and growth slowing down, absolute improvements will not be as dramatic as before.'
Agreeing, Mr Seah says: 'The younger generation is looking for the next quantum leap, just as their predecessors had achieved. I am not sure if that quantum leap is realistic.'
Of course, accepting a slowdown does not mean abandoning the fight to maintain social mobility.
With fewer non-graduate parents today, there will be fewer rags-to-riches stories. But where obstacles keep able children at the bottom from moving up in life, they should be cleared.
The Singapore Story needs a modern retelling, in which those who have succeeded work with Government to give hope to others.
The Prime Minister defined the challenge succinctly: It is to help the child studying in a void deck dream of becoming the next Nobel Prize winner.
By Cai Haoxiang, Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 28 Oct 2011
IT IS a dire prospect that the Government has warned about for decades. Now, by the Prime Minister's own admission, it is already taking place - social stratification, that is, the division of society into different classes or social layers.
In Parliament last Thursday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not mince his words, saying: 'Our society is stratifying.'
He summed up the problem this way: 'The children of successful people are doing better, the children of less successful people are doing less well.'
The worry is that Singaporeans are becoming trapped within the socio-economic bracket of their birth, and finding it more difficult than before to move up.
The hardening of social strata has been warned about for years.
Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong spoke about it at least twice, once in his 1995 National Day Rally speech and again in 1999.
In 1995, he said children of successful parents tended to be more successful. 'We must make every effort to remedy wherever we can this natural tendency towards stratification,' he said then.
In 1999, Mr Goh drew a distinction between heartlanders, who made their living here, and cosmopolitans, who spoke English and had skills that plugged them into the global market.
'If cosmopolitans and heartlanders cease to identify with each other, our society will fall apart,' he warned.
This January, social mobility was back in the news when then-Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew revealed that in elite schools like Raffles Institution, at least half of the students had fathers who were university graduates, compared to around 10 per cent in neighbourhood schools.
In March this year, then-Education Minister Ng Eng Hen gave a more upbeat assessment of the situation.
Speaking during Parliament's debate on the Government's Budget, he cited statistics to make the point that social mobility is alive and well.
Half of the pupils in the bottom third by socio-economic background scored in the top two-thirds of their cohort in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
'Gratifyingly, our data affirms that the Singapore Story continues for this generation,' Dr Ng told the House.
A shift in stance?
NATIONAL University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser says what PM Lee said in his speech last week amounts to an admission that 'mobility chances are not the same across classes'.
Assistant Professor Irene Ng of the NUS social work department discerns a shift in the Government's stance.
She says: 'Before, I think they were emphasising that we do have mobility. Now, I think there's recognition that mobility is limited for the people at the bottom.'
Former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin agrees that the Government's position seems to have shifted in the six months since Dr Ng Eng Hen's speech in Parliament on the same issue.
'This demonstrates how much rethinking had been done. The same facts presented then and now generated a different conclusion,' he says.
Mr Zulkifli notes that the Government has always helped the most disadvantaged to move up in life.
'But now, PM Lee is suggesting that we need to broaden that help. It's not just the disadvantaged any more, but even people who are not-so-disadvantaged, who need to be put on the same starting block,' he adds.
People's Action Party MPs say there has been no dramatic change in the Government's stand on social mobility, but there is now a sense of urgency about addressing obstacles.
Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng says: 'Singapore has always stood for social mobility. But I think there is a shift in emphasis and urgency.
'It is important that we have an honest conversation about the widening income gap and tackle head-on concerns over social mobility. If left unaddressed, it will breed resentment at the bottom and undermine trust in our open and meritocratic system.'
Mr Seah Kian Peng, chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development, Youth and Sports, agrees. 'The previous debate was about how there are good stories to share, good testimonies, with the statistics reflecting that our current system allows such mobility.
'Now PM Lee is talking about the other side, the half-empty glass - about the people who are not making it and how, going forward, things will get tougher and tougher,' he says.
As some observed during the March debate on social mobility, the statistics cited by Dr Ng can be interpreted differently.
Dr Ng said that one in six pupils in the bottom-third socio-economic bracket scores within the top one-third in the PSLE. But that means five in six do not.
Dr Ng also said that among students from families living in one- to three-room HDB flats, almost half progress to universities and polytechnics - a figure that held steady in the past decade even as the number of Singaporean households living in such flats fell.
But the share of these students who make it to university is one in 10 - significantly lower than the national average of one in four.
Left behind by a globalised elite?
OBSERVERS say that a stratified society leaves children of less-educated, less-wealthy parents uncertain of how to survive in an increasingly globalised world, due to the lack of knowledge about careers and life directions.
These children are left in the lurch even as their peers do well in school and secure plum internships and jobs.
Minister of State (Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli says that those 'who have arrived' can give their children career guidance.
'They can support their children's aspirations in a challenging and open society. For example, if my children want to study engineering, I can tell them how versatile the path is or I can say, I have friends in this field, why don't you get an attachment with uncle so-and-so. You have that kind of ability in your circle of friends.'
Mr Masagos, who trained as an electrical engineer, says he could not have got that perspective from his own father. 'He was a technician, and was just happy that I passed my exam.'
Academics have long recognised the importance of social networks. As NUS sociologist Vincent Chua notes, higher-income families 'tend to have ties that are more leveraging, influential and global' - and which can give their children a head start.
A concrete example is the use of alumni networks in elite primary schools, he adds. Children gain admission based on their parents' ties to the school: a practice in which present outcomes are determined by what has gone before.
Mr Zulkifli points out that children of better-educated, wealthier parents tend to travel the world from a young age and are exposed to different views. That gives them an edge when they apply for jobs in multinational companies.
'Companies today require somebody young, talented and globally aware. If you don't have that kind of exposure, you will be left behind,' Mr Zulkifli says.
Ms Ng, the MP, says that children from higher-income families enjoy a huge head start due to 'more ample resources and a home environment which encourages learning and which cultivates high expectations in their children'.
Preschool education is one area where the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.
'Now the entry point is like five levels up for the richer kids, who attend a host of enrichment classes, study at expensive, elite preschool centres and come from a home environment which encourages learning,' Ms Ng says.
Academics note that such early differences are amplified by Singapore's practice of streaming at a young age.
Dr Chua says: 'The earlier the streaming, the greater the influence of family background.'
Dr Ng, of NUS, notes that streaming is intended to keep the workforce competitive, but it may have unfortunate consequences for mobility.
And these early differences may widen - just as how getting into an elite primary school may increase the chances of getting into a good secondary school.
Observers warn that a stratified society risks becoming a divided one.
Ms Ng, the MP, warns that if people in the lower strata find it difficult to move up, they may lose faith in a core principle of Singapore society, meritocracy. Singaporeans understand that to mean that the best jobs and largest rewards go to the best and brightest, and not by virtue of how rich or well-connected someone is.
Ms Ng says she has seen young people from poor backgrounds who are discouraged by the many hurdles they face in their struggle for a better life.
'They become victims of low expectations. They feel that society looks down on them. The danger for some is that they then turn to gangs to win respect and acquire self-esteem,' she adds.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari warns that 'stratified societies can be fertile ground for social unrest or political upheavals'.
He cites as examples the class- based protests in Bangkok last year that left more than 80 people dead, as well as the 'Occupy Wall Street' movements around the world which have sprung from people's anger over growing income inequality and social injustice.
Social transfers and beyond
CURRENTLY, Singapore has an array of organisations and schemes that help boost the chances of a child from a disadvantaged background.
The four community self-help groups run reading and mentoring programmes. The Community Development Councils provide social assistance. The National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation reaches out to youth at risk. The Workfare Income Supplement scheme boosts the incomes of older, low-income Singaporeans. Grassroots groups in each constituency give out scholarships and bursaries.
Dr Ng, in his speech in March, said that education remains the best social leveller. Close to 99 per cent of each cohort complete 10 years of primary and secondary schooling, one of the highest completion rates in the world.
Over the last decade, funding per pupil in primary schools rose by 110 per cent to almost $7,000 last year. In his speech, the Prime Minister highlighted the Learning Support Programme to help Primary 1 and 2 children who lag behind their peers in English and mathematics.
Mr Zainal, who is a former educator, cites how 'there is a lot of funding given' to schools to help children from low-income families, to buy a personal computer, for example.
'I've used discretionary funding to help pay for transport to ensure the child can come to school. But what I cannot do is to bring the child to school,' he says.
Promoting social mobility is not just about income transfers. Mr Zainal says there is also a need to look at 'building better families'.
Ms Ng believes that lower-income families need 'moral support', not just welfare handouts or free tuition.
Her constituency holds parenting talks and free reading programmes for children, with stories which stress values, character and hope.
Society must care
THE work of improving social mobility cannot be done by the Government alone.
Associate Professor Tan from NUS names three assets which improve one's social mobility: economic capital, or money; social capital, or personal connections; and cultural capital, which includes knowledge, experience, and the ability to fit into society.
The Government can help mitigate a lack of economic capital. But social and cultural capital are harder to equalise, he says.
Many children from lower-income families could do with volunteer mentors to be their 'role model, resource person and cheerleader', he says.
Mr Masagos agrees. 'We need people whom children can trust and talk to. Society must care, and the Government cannot do it alone.'
Dr Ng, of NUS, argues for a more radical approach. Social stratification does not result just from specific disadvantages such as the lack of tuition, she says, but from the economy's wage structure. By that, she means the large gap between the wages of those who graduate from universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
'The ITE grad needs to be able to get wages that are not too dissimilar,' she says, even if they have lower- skilled jobs.
The belief that hard work leads to success for everyone also needs moderating. A lack of success is not always due to personal failings, says Dr Ng.
'We should recognise that the bottom group is trying hard, but there are lots of challenges for them,' she adds.
At the same time, some MPs say Singaporeans have to moderate their expectations and recognise the cold, hard fact of slowing mobility.
Minister of State (Finance and Transport) Josephine Teo notes: 'With the economy maturing and growth slowing down, absolute improvements will not be as dramatic as before.'
Agreeing, Mr Seah says: 'The younger generation is looking for the next quantum leap, just as their predecessors had achieved. I am not sure if that quantum leap is realistic.'
Of course, accepting a slowdown does not mean abandoning the fight to maintain social mobility.
With fewer non-graduate parents today, there will be fewer rags-to-riches stories. But where obstacles keep able children at the bottom from moving up in life, they should be cleared.
The Singapore Story needs a modern retelling, in which those who have succeeded work with Government to give hope to others.
The Prime Minister defined the challenge succinctly: It is to help the child studying in a void deck dream of becoming the next Nobel Prize winner.
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