Why are parents still gunning for brand name primary schools? | Heart of the Matter podcast
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2024
- The annual Primary 1 registration season is back and parents are strategising how to get their children into choice schools. Despite tweaks to the system, brand name schools are still being oversubscribed. Why are parental attitudes so hard to shift? And can the system meet everyone's needs? Steven Chia speaks to Ong Junda, father and founder of SGschooling.com, Associate Professor Jason Tan from the National Institute of Education and Tan Hui Min, a mother of two.
00:17 Introduction
1:57 Parent Ong Junda's efforts to get his child into a choice school
2:48 Parent Tan Hui Min's decision was guided by heritage
5:47 Is distance a factor?
7:57 Is every school a good school?
10:01 What kind of child do you have?
10:55 Is the current Primary 1 registration system fair?
14:13 The effect of MOE kindergartens
15:55 It's about what parents bring to the table
19:00 Should the parent volunteer scheme be removed?
22:20 Introducing more diversity to schools
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Asking 2 parents for suggestions on how to better the system, when their very children got into their preferred options are just thoughtless.
they talk about "meritocracy", and yet you have preferential treatment for P1s to enter into a school on the basis of their parents having been alumni... and then those same kids are given "discounts" for PSLEs again... this does not sound meritorious or fair to me.
Abolish the alumni system which gives parents who left their alma mater many, many years ago priority to certain schools. It is unfair!
Simple. If all MP/ministers son/daughters are mandated to non-branded primary school first, then all parents will follow suit!
Please do more series on parentocracy, moneytocracy and meanstocracy! I think MOE should be like HDB, set aside vacancies in school for ethnic quota and income quota 😂 also reduce vacancies for parent alumni (make them ballot for less vacancies)
When we applied for P1 school for my kid a few years back, we were in phase 2C as she was the only child and we did not live near any our of alumni schools. We chose a neigbourhood school within 1KM of where we lived and still did not get in. The stress of awaiting for my kid to be allocated a school after failing phase 2CS and only allocated at the last moment was too much frustration to bear as all the schools within our young district were almost fully allocated. Hopefully the process can be improved, we didn't know if she was going to be thrown into a school which was going to result in longer travel time by that computer allocation or balloting.
Singapore indeed is the pinnacle of stereotypical Asian parents lol
Regrettably true
The Prof is right. Much of it has little to do with the child. The fairest system would focus on the children instead of what parents can bring to the table or what the school stands to gain.
Every child deserves to be given a chance. So, it is better to do away with all that distance and parental involvement, alumni, affiliation criteria and allow every child to choose and use a ballot system to determine who gets in.
Such a system would be blind to social status, give every child a chance to be responsible for his education and prevent potential corruption (as in buying places or pulling strings, etc.)
I taught in a neighbourhood school and many of my students are intelligent but socially disadvantaged. A ballot system would allow them to prove themselves instead of relying on privileges of being born in a better environment.
We are depriving our nation of potential talent because of the unfair system.
Good schools vs neighborhood schools. All schools in Singapore are good. But you have never seen a MP sending their own children to a neighborhood school. I believe there is a good level of professionalism in our teachers in all schools. The syllabus is the same. So what is the difference? The peers your child get to mix with and grow up with. The circle of friends in an elite school is much different than the circle of friends you get in a neighborhood school. I didn't say it is necessarily better, I say it is much different.
Seriously good professionalism of teachers from the good school? NUS have a lot of lechers and crazy professors and students from NTU and NUS caught many times for stealing undergarments.
In additional, it is the parents engagement in these other schools that make the difference. Thus, some parents who never engage in school support system year on year, will never understand why her kids school operate differently.
The parent group of my children school forges such strong bonds for 6-10yrs. Ya, from P 1.
There is that much one can ask vs what they contribute. That's fact, and fair perhaps.
U took the words out of my mouth! Agree
I went to a neighbourhood school and i can fully understand why you might want your kids to go to a brand name school
The answer to this question is very simple! It’s a bragging right for the parents!
Well said . “My kid is from cat high “ vs my kid is from “ boon Kim secondary school”
Face first… who cares about the detriment of the children. It’s heartbreaking. Branded schools don’t always breed the best behaviours. If you think going to a branded school makes your child more moral, you’ve got to be kidding. Sometimes the parents of the kids are ok but because their parents are so eager to give them the best, the kids become spoilt brats and bullies… but are still so Molly coddled and protected because their parents refuse to see their bad behaviour and take them to task.
@@mamamememoo our children starts learning from the day they were born, not from Primary 1 or kindergarten. In other words, they learn from their parents. MOE has done well to improve neighbourhood schools so that there is really no ‘bad school’. Kudos to the government and educators. Even the nursery teachers are well educated and well paid. Impressive!
Majority of employers' HR & government Man Power department only interested in Genuine Certificates , Diplomas , Degrees or Master Degrees tested & obtained ... Which school or College they studied under is not important! 😊🙏
I don't understand the point of this video, has anything happened that would cause parents to NOT gun for brand name schools?
Provide information on the strength of each school e.g sports, art, dance etc. Provide stronger student support to improve image of 'problem' neighbourhood schools. The above will help parents to make more Informed decision and improve environment. Level the starting point for kids.
Provide opportunities for social mixing in primary with activities such as interschool sports events, community service, student exchange for CCA . It does not necessary need to be at registration phase.
We are used to Govt flip flopping all the time. They may emphasise all schools are “good” schools and formulate policies that try to reinforce this new narrative. The Govt may also try to promote the blue collar industry to appeal to more Singaporeans.
But statistics don’t lie. White collar jobs earn more (over a lifespan of most careers) compared to blue collar jobs. An education in a branded school or any forms of higher education in a non-vocational based curriculum will tend to open more doors.
Anderson is a brand name school in Ang Mo Kio which has balloting most of the time...Almost certain the property prices around that school is also high...Yes, not as branded as others like ACS but you can clearly see why branding has lead to such stark differences in average SES of families enrolling in Pri Sch...Even within schools, often you can find a similar pattern of more students from higher SES familes getting into higher banded classes...We are stuck in this rut because we are still working towards grades in PSLE...
Recent an elitist school was shown in bad light when its high-ranking member of society were caught in all kinds of inappropriate behaviours and corruptions. This goes show that ethics taught in a neighbourhood school can also bring about a better all round human development.
Who?
Maris Stella, ACS
every school is a good school but not all teachers are good teachers.
Kiasu
Notice that the rep from national education, didn’t mention affiliation as a reason in his initial summary while the lady spoke about it at length coz they know..
The additional points deduction for affiliation is very important for the kids as they progress…2 grades from secondary to JC and to get into the sec, the primary school is important to have points deduction..to hit the sec school.. this got nothing to do with kids capability but only affiliation..thus a lot of singaporean ask for this affiliation to be removed as it is undermining meritocracy.
we can’t avoid competition, if singaporean don’t have competitive mindset, the world can overcome the issue by themselves and left singapore behind.
The most important Question...
Is all school facilities vs the Top 5 ranking school really the same?
Are there preferential additional funds going to top schools?
All the experienced Teachers well spread across Singapore?
Those Parents who were in the neighborhood schools last time will know the answer.....
In terms of primary schools, MOE has been quite good in providing facilities to all schools so that’s been levelled up. Indeed, some “legacy” (usually branded) schools may not get the facilities as they may be space constrained if they are on old school grounds.
MOE also has been allocating funds equally per capita. The government-aided schools (again, usually deemed as branded) would receive less in certain areas as they are not fully government schools and retain a modicum of autonomy.
As for teacher allocation, that is quite random and teachers get rotated to other schools. Again, the aided schools have a pool of government-aided teachers who would stay with the school longer but there is no guarantee these are the best. Indeed, some of these aren’t are can be a headache for the school to try to shift, so swings and roundabouts.
Also once I get my child into a branded school, then my grandkids will be in a branded school too! Lol
One other way is to decentralize the location of all the branded schools. Why are all the branded schools almost solely in Bt Timah? Then the socio-economic status will be mixed if you change the location.
I was from a branded girls school, my mum used that same logic to keep me there. The joke is on her coz she has three grandsons from me. Was it worth the unhappy secondary school years I had? Nope. Not at all. Thankfully I am emotionally resilient… a more musically gifted friend of mine from the same school was so pressured, so unhappy that she just gave up on herself one day.
@@mamamememoo i'm sorry that happened to you & your friend, you're a strong person! i hope your friend is better now, music isn't appreciated in singapore...
Going to an elite school provides connections at a young age, that will carry on thru adulthood... That's the only reason that most parents want their kids in elite schools compared to other schools
This is the usual cliche about brand name school which is not entirely true. It's simply bad urban planning. There are some neighborhood school non branded but oversubscribed to the max simply because too many BTO suddenly spring up in the vicinity with little growth in the supporting facilities like schools. Princess elizabeth pri school is one good example. Came out in the news that it was terribly oversubscribed beating even nyps or rgps
Bcz Of SG’s Flawed Meritocracy System 😊
Because kids can develop confidence just like how the city is perceived to the people feeling like you are better more superior than other neighboring countries even if companies actually hire fw/ft and if you lack that confidence youll end up in the bottom with low esteem choices become minimal like driving and hawker staff.
Simple reason, they want their kids to mix around with smart kids and also better chance to mingle with people from higher social status. Is like in Maple Story people also aim to join the top guilds.
Timestamp: 17:00
Sg parents are caught in a rut
Define good schools
The ROOOOOT for us to take ~
Not important at all. when you are stying overseas , who cares . As long as scores obtained able to enter the right faculty in uni. .
Some children do spoilt by parent' s ego.
For boys, they will get an opportunity to mix with all sort of family background during NS time..
Not necessarily. For infantry and mono intakes yes but for specialists no.
Thry should have got a parent whose kid went for a neighborhood school
It doesn’t matter which primary a child goes too. Perhaps when they are posted to the sec sch then one will then know the child’s strength. It’s the children that make the sch and not vice versa.
Hence, education begins from home
Dont matter which school the smart student attend just need grooming on morality. Less gifted student needs more attention.
They need to do away the alumni concept
The alumni concept has a place in fostering belonging and identity and should not be totally abolished. Some of the branded schools are what they are because they have a form of heritage which was built upon year on year and would be eroded if the alumni concept were to be abolished.
@@MelvinSimKH it is the most merit less factor.
@@leehyunsong7001 To some, perhaps. But if it is about fostering identity in a school, and consequently, in a nation, that would be priceless.
@@MelvinSimKH what identity? Atas identity right? Posh feeling right, that’s why it must be taken away
@@leehyunsong7001 The thing is, what is making these schools so desirable to parents? It isn’t about the results most of the time in the primary schools. Some schools like La Salle schools, brothers of St Gabriel and CHIJ are valued for their Catholic faith and values. ACS is known for their fund-raisers which promote a pay-it-forward way of thinking. Others like the clan association schools put Chinese culture up front.
These can only be propagated if the schools have the backing of the parents. Granted you don’t have to be catholic to study in SJI Junior or that you need to be Chinese to be in Chongfu School or Nan Chiau Pri, but you (parent and child) need to share the values and ethos of the school. Otherwise, if a large enough proportion opposes the activities of the school, then the activities and messages get diluted or stopped. The school then stops being the very thing parents wanted for their child.
Again, not to say that only alumni can support a school. That’s why there should be a mix but to not have the support of alumni would dilute the culture and identity of a school. The percentage of student intake reserved for alumni children is already at a very low percentage. I fear disbanding this altogether would be a grave mistake.
As a tutor for more than 10 years, I can safely and assuredly tell you that primary school plays a very insignificant part of your kids success academically in the long run.
Nonsense
Exactly. I agree with you, @lee1039.
Good, bad, fair etc are all subjective
Children are innocent. It’s their upbringing that will determine who they are.
Every school is a good school.
i have 9 accords with roommates 50 accords ith mom and three accords with the hoa (a. regarding public urination b. trash duty and c noise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just like why they want to stay in condo, they want to be birds of the same feather flocking together. The classmate future all well to do.
But I put it to those parents, if your neighbourhood already so many condo and private property, and all of you attend that school, why wouldnt that school be a good exclusive networking place.
There are pros and cons in all kinds of schools.
You go to a branded school you can tap on the network and heritage resources in these kind of schools but your children will turn out very yaya and fxxked up later on.
You go to a boy school you will have a much higher chance of being gay.
You go to a girl school same and the chances of getting involved with a teacher or abused by a educator is also higher.
You go to a ordinary school well it doesn't mean you will be ordinary later on just that your everyday life in it is going to be ordinary which can be seen as a blessing actually if you can see it that way.
You go to a religious school you might turn out to be a zealot or radical later.
A lot of pros and cons lah. Your life is already predetermined by fate anyway so what kind of places you end up in and what trials in life await you are all different so no point worrying too much over these things anyway as once things happened you cannot change it. That's life.
While the pap and lhl still continue to have great and rich lives, most singaporeans still suffer in silence and suffer under the ironfisted pap.
Absolute waste of time ! AI is going to make all jobs and learning totally irrelevant... 😅😂
How well a student performs in school is dependent on the substance of that particular student; it has nothing to do with which school he/she attends. A smart student is a smart student, a stupid student is a stupid student. Period. Stop arguing over this stupid and senseless topic.
if kids are born smart, all schools are the same.
japan will retake the kuilrs sakahalin and vladivostok south korea will take north korea.
These parents still think their kiddo would have the best chance to get the best job if their kiddo comes from 'good' school....but unfortumately , they never factored in that these kids of theirs, when they become adults would be screwed by FTs in the job market!
Guess someone remark.." must have come from lousy school"... reflects the reality that these kids will face , when they do get into the job market cos it would be must be a lousy job markets for them!😆😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣
Sg tracking website? Kiasu parents LOL
It's Chinese culture
Talking about parents, pritam singh of WP and lee hsien yang of PSP are pursued by the police for lying. Both are parents. Parents are supposed to inculcate moral values in their children, yet these two parents are beyond repair.🤣🤣