I refer to Tuesday's Parliament Shorts on September 15th in the Straits Times Home Section, page B7 (Most top-scoring students live in HDB flats) and I must say that it is rather misleading- at first glance, one might be inclined to think that students who live in HDB flats are outperforming those who live in private housing. However, after taking a closer look at the statistics, it is clear that this is not the case.
The statistics given in the short are as follows:
About 82% of Singaporeans live in public housing.
More than 60% of top 10% scorers in the PSLE live in HDB flats.
More than 50% of Secondary 1 students enrolled in Intergrated Programme (IP) schools live in HDB flats.
Let's turn the charts upside down and look at it more critically. While only 18% of Singaporeans live in private housing, they account for almost 40% of top 10% PSLE scores and more than 40% of IP school enrollment. Let's not deny the obvious, which is that Singaporeans who can afford to live in private housing do end up in better schools. I would not be too hasty in attempting to explain this phenomenon. Perhaps they are brought up with a stronger thirst for success than the average Singaporean living in a HDB flat, or perhaps they can afford costly private tuition. It is most likely due to a mix of a wide range of reasons. Regardless, the numbers cannot and do not lie- being able to afford private housing gives students a statistical edge over the average Singaporean HDB dweller.
-Visakan Veerasamy
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YOU LIVE IN PRIVATE HOUSING! DOUCHE!
ReplyDeleteyou don't need to be a heartlander to point out the idiocy of Parliamentary statistic spinning
ReplyDeleteMark: I do, but technically my family really can't afford to anymore. Lol
ReplyDelete