Singapore's Meritocracy Should be About Making a Level Playing Field

Hard-road meritocracy, from the log cabin to the White House, is said to have made the United States the superpower it is today.

This should not be equated with a limousine ride to the best school and university, then on to an executive position in the family firm.

Billionaire Warren Buffett cannot be called condescending for his cross-class philanthropy.

His view is that one is as probable to get a smart, new idea from a poor child as from a rich one; therefore, they all deserve support.

Where that support is unavailable in the family, the obligation rests with the community at large to not waste hidden talent.

But many Singaporeans confuse the origins of meritocracy at this nation’s birth with the benefits of privilege prevailing today. (“Beware overcompensating in rush to recognise less academically inclined”; Jan 8)

I do not deny that many less-wealthy families struggle hard and sacrifice much to ensure their children have the best opportunities they can afford. But this sometimes leads to debt spirals that trap the student for years to come.

If it were sport, rather than education, we would take a different view. In athletics, runners start from the same line.

If they enhance their potential with artificial stimulants that improve their performance, we are outraged and they suffer eventually. Coming off a common base is our accepted measure of sporting merit.

Singapore risks accepting a flabby meritocracy if it does not applaud initiatives that open up access to the best educational opportunity for all, to reach their maximum at the appropriate levels.