ABSTRACT
One of the complaints about Singapore among its residents concerns the ‘unforgiving’ meritocratic system of examinations and results that glorifi es those who excel and stigmatises those who fail along their academic journey. The world is your oyster if you excel. It is the end of the world if you fail. Resources are channeled to groom the top students. Others languish at the bottom. That is one picture. But, if you visit the Ministry of Education, you will hear offi cials describe the huge efforts put into levelling up students who are struggling in the meritocratic system. Visit an Institute of Technical Education and you will be more impressed with its state-of-the-art campus and facilities than you would be in an ‘elite’ secondary school. Some might ask, ‘But isn’t Singapore “religiously” meritocratic and elitist?’ Well, Singapore aims to be a compassionate meritocracy.
