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Thread: New study finds clear divide among social classes in Singapore

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    Default New study finds clear divide among social classes in Singapore

    New study finds clear divide among social classes in Singapore


    On average, Singaporeans who live in public housing have fewer than one friend who lives in private housing.PHOTO: EPA-EFE

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    Charissa Yong


    SINGAPORE - The sharpest social divisions in Singapore may now be based on class, instead of race or religion, a study released on Thursday (Dec 28) suggests.

    The Institute of Policy Studies' (IPS) Study On Social Capital In Singapore shows that on average, Singaporeans who live in public housing have fewer than one friend who lives in private housing.

    People who study in elite schools also tend to be less close to those in non-elite schools, and vice versa.

    About 3,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents were interviewed and asked to name the people they have ties with for the study, which is the first of its kind on such a scale here.

    Researchers said the findings suggest a clear class divide in Singapore. They called for policies that encourage more mixing along class lines to mitigate this trend.

    "We have shifted from a society based on race to one based also on class," said National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Vincent Chua, one of the study's three researchers.

    "We've done a pretty good job in fostering multiculturalism and mixing between ethnic groups, but maybe the next step now is to increase efforts to increase mixing between class groups," he added.



    IPS deputy director Gillian Koh and NUS sociologist Tan Ern Ser also worked on the study, which was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

    From January to July last year, respondents were asked about the people in their social networks, including who they discussed important matters with, or confided in when they were feeling down.

    They were also asked to name who they played sports with, got help from for household matters such as collecting mail, and who they spent the most time with on social activities.

    They were then asked to give details about the people they named, such as age, race, and whether they considered them to have attended an "elite" school.

    Results show that a typical Singaporean has an average of 5.8 acquaintances and friends in his social network.

    But while people were able to easily name a friend of a different gender or age, and even race or religion, they more rarely named someone from another class.

    This preference for those from their own kind of class was strong even after researchers took into account uneven group sizes - about 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public flats, so there are fewer private-housing dwellers for them to meet.

    Despite the vast majority of Singaporeans living in public housing, private-home dwellers had more ties with others who lived in private homes than with those who lived in public flats.

    Said Dr Chua: "Even if you give people equal opportunities, they will still gravitate to hang out with their own kind. So we have to think of ways to disrupt this."

    The researchers suggested that Singaporeans flock to their own kind because they feel they cannot connect with others due to cultural differences.

    For instance, those from outside their circle may speak English differently, or have different social norms and hobbies.

    People may also feel those from other classes are not interested in socialising with them, said the researchers in a statement.

    "People like to be with people like themselves," said Dr Chua.

    National identity

    Another finding from the research was that those with more diverse networks tend to have stronger feelings of national pride and trust towards people from other races, religions or countries.

    Having more friends from different backgrounds broadens their world view, said the researchers.

    This helps people think in terms of the nation, rather than only about their own group and its interests.

    The researchers said strengthening the national identity is one reason people should be encouraged to interact more with others unlike themselves.

    Another reason is to make sure that Singapore remains an egalitarian society.

    Said NUS' Professor Tan: "Race and religion are potent divisions which we cannot ignore, but the class divide may be happening because of globalisation, which leads to greater inequality."

    He added: "What it means is that we should continue to equalise opportunities and make sure everyone is brought up to speed in terms of skills training. We don't want to be a society where the class divide and social inequality become wider."

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    Blame this on Primary one registration. Rich kids get to attend elite schools because their parents went to the same schools, thus perpetuating the class divide. The rich will remain rich and the poor will stay poor.

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    I thought you should blame the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer because of income tax cut (benefiting the rich and high income earners) like in US now (and in the past in Singapore from 33% to 20% now) and GST increases (hitting the middle income earners and the poor very badly)?


    Quote Originally Posted by stalingrad View Post
    Blame this on Primary one registration. Rich kids get to attend elite schools because their parents went to the same schools, thus perpetuating the class divide. The rich will remain rich and the poor will stay poor.

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    Quote Originally Posted by teddybear View Post
    I thought you should blame the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer because of income tax cut (benefiting the rich and high income earners) like in US now (and in the past in Singapore from 33% to 20% now) and GST increases (hitting the middle income earners and the poor very badly)?
    That too, Teddy. But the main culprit is the education system where the rich are in one stream, and the poor are in another, which can be blamed on how Primary one registration works. If you are poor, your parents are likely to have studied at bad schools, and you will not be able to get in one of the elite schools. Thus, the elite schools are mainly for the rich and famous of Singapore, and the bad neighborhood schools are mainly for the immigrants and the poor.

    The income divide is another issue. The poor will never be able to spend as much on cram school as the rich, and therefore will not be able to attend the elite schools at the secondary level. Thus, a Singaporean's fate in life is largely determined by which family he/she is borne into. There are cases where a person borne into poverty is able to swim against the current and become a tycoon. But such stories are so few and far between, they may as well be fairy tales.

    There are not just class and income divides in Singapore. I also notice the language divide. The poor and immigrants speak Chinese, and the rich speak English. The poor watch Channel 8 and the rich watch Channel 5 or cable TV. The rich and poor are so bifurcated, they may as well be from two different planets.
    Last edited by stalingrad; 29-12-17 at 20:03.

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    Quote Originally Posted by stalingrad View Post
    That too, Teddy. But the main culprit is the education system where the rich are in one stream, and the poor are in another, which can be blamed on how Primary one registration works. If you are poor, your parents are likely to have studied at bad schools, and you will not be able to get in one of the elite schools. Thus, the elite schools are mainly for the rich and famous of Singapore, and the bad neighborhood schools are mainly for the immigrants and the poor.

    The income divide is another issue. The poor will never be able to spend as much on cram school as the rich, and therefore will not be able to attend the elite schools at the secondary level. Thus, a Singaporean's fate in life is largely determined by which family he/she is borne into. There are cases where a person borne into poverty is able to swim against the current and become a tycoon. But such stories are so few and far between, they may as well be fairy tales.

    There are not just class and income divides in Singapore. I also notice the language divide. The poor and immigrants speak Chinese, and the rich speak English. The poor watch Channel 8 and the rich watch Channel 5 or cable TV. The rich and poor are so bifurcated, they may as well be from two different planets.
    Let me give my life example to show it is the parent fault and not the system when their children did not go into a good school.

    I came from a neighborhood school not knowing what I miss and I put my son into one also.

    After I came back from my detachment in US my son went into Pri 5 after his test.

    The Principle call us to the office and tell us my son just make it to the higher Chinese and suggest we put him in a Normal Chinese class which I refuse and want my son to do his higher Chinese.

    After Pri 5 exam my son very angry with me because he is number fourth in class and to my surprise before he went oversea he got lot of A in Pri 1 and 2.

    This set me off to find out what is the best for him. We went to NUS high open house and he took the test with about 2000 student from all the school and was selected for the 400 to go for the 2 days Math and Science camp where they select 180 from the 400. 20 is for the BEST PSLE result, the yearly intake is 200. He did not made it for the 180.

    We then go for the IP school open house and that is where I get to know what other school don't have.

    My son was selected for Dunman High School and his PSLE result was 263. He got two girl classmate who score better than him they choose to go to non IP school.

    It is not only the ability of the child but also the parent to decide how the child progress.

    Please do not blame the system when you don't even know how the system work.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arcachon View Post
    Let me give my life example to show it is the parent fault and not the system when their children did not go into a good school.

    I came from a neighborhood school not knowing what I miss and I put my son into one also.

    After I came back from my detachment in US my son went into Pri 5 after his test.

    The Principle call us to the office and tell us my son just make it to the higher Chinese and suggest we put him in a Normal Chinese class which I refuse and want my son to do his higher Chinese.

    After Pri 5 exam my son very angry with me because he is number fourth in class and to my surprise before he went oversea he got lot of A in Pri 1 and 2.

    This set me off to find out what is the best for him. We went to NUS high open house and he took the test with about 2000 student from all the school and was selected for the 400 to go for the 2 days Math and Science camp where they select 180 from the 400. 20 is for the BEST PSLE result, the yearly intake is 200. He did not made it for the 180.

    We then go for the IP school open house and that is where I get to know what other school don't have.

    My son was selected for Dunman High School and his PSLE result was 263. He got two girl classmate who score better than him they choose to go to non IP school.

    It is not only the ability of the child but also the parent to decide how the child progress.

    Please do not blame the system when you don't even know how the system work.
    Statistically, your family does not represent the population.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Amber Woods View Post
    Statistically, your family does not represent the population.
    The Parent or the child.

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