Questions on social inequality and mobility came up a few times during a forum that Education Minister Heng Swee Keat had with university students at SMU last night. A third-year student, Ms Ann-Margaret Mathew, 22, said the Primary 1 registration system creates an uneven playing field for children as places are given first to those who live near the schools and whose parents are their alumni. She asked if the Education Ministry had plans to tackle this issue. SMU alumnus Elvin Ong, 27, said he observed at a neighbourhood school that several students were too poor to buy red-and-white outfits to celebrate National Day, and asked if the Government had a clear policy on addressing the issue of social inequality. Mr Heng said parents should change their mindsets and recognise that many neighbourhood primary schools are good too.
The Straits Times