Re: Societal Equity, Mobility, Meritocracy and The Population Question: A Singaporean Perspective
- From: Wakalukong <wakalukong@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:27:56 -0700 (PDT)
On Sep 18, 1:45 am, lkype...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
(snip)
Meritocracy is a very noble and just concept in that it pre-supposes(snip)
no bias whatsoever but pure and blind pursuit of it could result in
the opposite. Entrance census of students in ivy league schools that
largely operate on a meritocratic basis have proven that a
disproportionally large part of the students are from family with
better background as indicated by things like income, housing
district, paternal/maternal education level etc compared to the
general mix of such factors in the general population. Why is this so?
Some frame the debate along the lines or nature ( meaning better
genes ) or nurture ( better upbringing ). No matter what the reason be
it nature or nurture, a dichotomy has happen in terms of ill matching
profile. Some recommend affirmative action to keep things in check. I
have no easy answers and give it some thought and you be your own
judge.
Peter Lye aka lkypeter------
Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are
of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any
companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these
opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and
opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for
correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye
The govt keeps talking about meritocracy, but our scholars don't fully
know what they're talking about. Until recently, meritocracy to the
govt was academic meritocracy. They've now realised that it's a lot
wider than that. But by now a lot of our non-academic talents have
been wasted.
However, old habits die hard; the govt's still the same. Just before
the last general elections, the Straits Times produced a supplement
profiling 50 Singaporeans who could be future leaders. They were in
their 30s and 40s. Their profiles showed that all of them were top
students and had won scholarships. Wow! But as I ploughed through
their profiles, I realised that none of them had mentioned any
achievements after their studies. One woman in her forties was still
talking about being a President's scholar and nothing else! It was as
if they had achieved nothing after their studies.
Recently someone I know logged into the a stautory board website
hoping to apply for a job. She was approaching 50 years old and well-
qualified, with vast experience in her field. She almost fell off her
chair when she saw that she had to type in her PSLE results. Why
should anyone bother with her PSLE results? Not surprisingly, she
gave up immediately.
So, in terms of meritocracy, how are we different from, say, the US?
In the US, they want to know how good you are now. In Singapore, the
the govt only wants to know how good you were long ago (not now).
Wakalukong
.
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