| Special Assistance Plan |
Article Index for Special |
Website Links For Special |
Information AboutSpecial Assistance Plan |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SPECIAL ASSISTANCE PLAN | |
| education in singapore | |
| singapore government policies | |
Many SAP schools were historically Chinese language medium schools, i.e. they taught all academic subjects in Mandarin (including science and mathematics), and which may have taught English as a foreign language. Following Singapore's independence in 1965, the government recognised four official languages in Singapore (English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil), but clearly designated English as the main language of basic and higher education, government and law, science and technology as well as trade and industry. While according official recognition to the languages of different ethno-linguistic communities in Singapore, it sought to promote English as a neutral common language to unite a culturally diverse nation of immigrants. English was also held to be the language of international higher education, science/technology and commerce. As such, it was indispensable to Singapore, given her ambition to become a 'Global City', articulated as early as 1972. However, with rapid economic development and exposure to Western, particularly American popular culture and values in the 1970s and 1980s, Singapore began to change from a lower income, poorly educated society to a more confident, educated, vocal and individualistic society. Around the same time, in the 1980s, the world was witnessing the rise of Japan and the Asian Newly Industrialised Economies or NIEs, of which Singapore was one. In contrast, the West and in particular the United States, appeared to be in a stage of decline, with rising drug use and crime, the transformation or collapse of the nuclear family and other social problems. Economically, American appeared unable to compete with rising Asian manufacturing competitors, especially Japan. The United States appeared lost and sinking under the weight of ballooning public and private debt, with large and growing trade and budget deficits. Singapore politicians from the dominant People's Action Party synthsised these various situations and developed certain ideas that came to be known as the Asian Values discourse. According to this line of argument, Singapore, along with Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, had succeeded so spectacularly in no small part because of their shared Confucianist cultural heritage, which emphasised values such as hard work, education, family unity, deference and loyatly to authority figures, community spirit (in contrast to Western individualism), etc. Some parallels were drawn between this Confucian ethic and the Protestant Work Ethic . However, the West was seen to have fallen into a state of permanent decline, marked by cultural decadence, indiscipline and even impending social decay. As an English speaking country and, in some ways the most Westernised of the Asian NIEs, Singapore was seen to be vulnerable to cultural influences from the West. Leaders observed signs of western decadence creeping into local society. Demeands for a more liberal social climate or greater political pluralism were also seen as symptoms of this rot (rather than the natural maturing of an industrialised, middle class society). Critics of the Asian Values discourse have argued that it existed to rationalise the maintenance of illiberal, quasi-authoritarian political structures in the face of pressure to reform. To better sell this argument to a multi-ethnic population where the non-Chinese / non-'Confucianist' communities formed at least a quarter of the population, the discourse was re-branded 'Asian Values', rather than Confucian Work Ethic. In Singapore, traditional Asian culture was seen as a valuable bullwark against 'decadent Western values', as well as a source of the nation's economic success thus far. As such, the government embarked on programmes and campaigns to promote traditional culture, including the revitalised Speak Mandarin Campaign (targeted at English rather than dialect speakers, as was historically the case) as well as SAP schools. The SAP school programme is periodically criticised in the national media by Singaporeans who are concerned about the ethnic segregation that it inevitably promotes. SAP schools only offer Mother Tongue lessons in one language (always Mandarin). In addition, several other academic and non-academic subjects may be taught in Mandarin (the academic subjects are usually related to Chinese culture - e.g. Chinese literature or the history of China). Sports, arts and music lessons may be held in Mandarin in some schools, and assemblies and other formal and ceremonial events (including the school song and motto), as well as routine public announcements, may be in Madarin. These are intentional moves to allow students to be immersed into a Chinese speaking environment, notwithstanding the fact that the main academic subjects, especiall all science and mathematics subjects, are taught in English, in common with all other Singapore schools. Consequently, SAP students tend to use Mandarin more frequently on a daily basis, for example, in canteen, during co-cirricular activities (sports, games, socities, cultural events, etc) as well as when mixing with friends outside of school. Almost all students that attend SAP schools are ethnic Chinese, and those that are not usually study Mandarin. Critics are concerned that the effect of SAP schools is to take a group of academically strong students and to cluster them together academically and socially in an artificial, Mandarin speaking environment devoid of ethnic minorities. The concern is that these students will be less well equipped to integrate with non-Chinese in their later social and professional adult lives. Another, less mentioned, concern is that by virtue of sheer numbers and their proportions in the population, as well as the related issue of the relative economic value of different languages in Singapore, it would seem unavoidable that only SAP schools catering to the ethnica majority will ever be viable in Singapore. As such, the State effectively promotes special promotion of the Chinese language and culture only, whereas the ethnic minorities (Malays and Indians) receive no such State funding or other support. In fact, in contrast to SAP schools, Islamic religious schools, or Madrassahs, have come under pressure and scrutiny from the state in the wake of 9/11 and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Southeast Asia, including Singapore. Madrassahs have had their syllabuses scrunitised and criticised by the government, and they have also been criticised for their Islamic character, which is seen as a leaving students inequipped to function well in multi-religious Singapore. Critics complain about the double standards they perceive in the way Muslim religious and Chinese language schools are treated by the State. |
|
|