This is Compassion - Singapore style

'SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday (Nov 26) clarified why a student’s original PSLE results slip was withheld after viral Facebook posts claimed she would need it to apply for secondary school admissions.

The withholding of PSLE original results slips due to school fee arrears is “a long-standing practice”, MOE said in response to CNA queries.

In a Facebook post on Monday, activist Gilbert Goh said a student had received only a photocopy of her PSLE results slip because she had "backlogged" school fees of S$156 due to financial reasons.
It went on to claim she would need the PSLE "certificate" to apply for admission into a secondary school....

"In the case highlighted by the FB (Facebook) posts, the parents did not pay miscellaneous fees for two years despite several reminders, and did not put in any application for MOE or school-based financial assistance which would have covered all the costs," the ministry said.

"The child will still receive a copy of the results, just not the original results slip, and she can still apply for secondary schools and will progress like all students."


MOE explained that its funding for each primary school student comes up to about S$12,000 each year and that each student co-pays S$13 of miscellaneous fees per month.

"Further, students from lower-income families can apply for financial assistance that covers their miscellaneous fees, uniforms, textbooks, transport and school meals," the ministry said in its reply.
"If it is about money then the easier solution would be to reduce subsidies and financial assistance."
It added that the issue was "not about recovering the money".

"MOE’s consideration stems from the underlying principle that notwithstanding the fact that the cost of education is almost entirely publicly funded, we should still play our part in paying a small fee, and it is not right to ignore that obligation, however small it is," the ministry said. "We hope parents support us in reinforcing this message."....

In one post, he acknowledged that MOE would “do their level best to assist all needy students and “will not leave anyone behind", but added that some do "fall through the crack".'

The above article from CNA is a good example of what compassion means in Singapore. It is compassion within the rules of administration. In short, if one has to pay a fee of $1.00 but paid only 95c, short of 5c, the rules applies and one would be treated as not having paid the fee and all the penalties would apply.

In the above student case, there are so many ways that someone or the school could offer a helping hand. Passing the hat around to raise $156 is not as difficult as going to the moon. And there are other financial assistance schemes that the student could avail. Just because the parents did not apply for it, maybe due to ignorance or whatever, it does not stop the school or teacher to put in a case for the student to be spare the agony and humiliation of her result slip being held back.

We will not leave anyone behind, but we have rules and rules must be observed. A crime is a crime no matter how small is the crime. Please understand, this is Singapore, a rule by law country. And we hope the parents will support us in reinforcing this message. What to say?

Anyone in this blog would be most willing to cough out the $156 for this student if asked. But the state, the school, the teachers etc etc would not or did not in this case.

This is Compassion, Singapore style, when $600,000 is peanuts and anyone earning less than $500k is mediocre. What is $156? For goodness sake, do something right for once. Remember Benjamin Lim?

And read this as reported in theindependent.sg
 
'In a Facebook post yesterday (Nov 26), social activist Gilbert Goh shared instances of many others, along with Aqil and Aqif. Goh wrote that the twins were “hit with a pay-first ultimatum by MOE or else their exam result will be withheld”. 

The mother of the boys is a single-parent who, as TISG understands through Gilbert, has been working part-time since April, making a monthly salary of only S$600 to S$800. Both boys have an unpaid school fee balance of S$310 each and their mother said that the boys’ father did not provide information necessary for them to complete their application for the Ministry of Education’s Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)....'