3. Scholarships Are Bad

In recent years, there have been some adverse rumblings about our scholarships system. When the government spends so much money on so few people, taxpayers have a right to grumble. Not all taxpayers will be happy - but among the happy ones will be your parents. (However, as the previously cited case shows, sometimes, even those who benefit from scholarships do not appreciate their good fortune).

When the government justifies the scholarship system by saying that candidates are chosen on merit, it will invite questions on the criteria used. Are we choosing only people with high academic scores or high IQ and is this intellectual elite the best group to lead Singapore? Are we increasingly choosing people from a narrowing base? same schools, same family backgrounds, same universities? Is this elitist system producing public servants with no empathy for, and understanding of, the problems and grievances of ordinary Singaporeans?

How can they be good public servants if they think they are privileged and believe that their role is to lord over, rather than serve, the public?

Although the public resentment could be due in part to envy, it will be wrong for us to assume that there is no basis for such fears. Hence, we have tried our best to address them. Intellectual ability is a pre-requisite and is still of prime importance. It is a necessary, but not sufficient condition.

We have always looked for many more qualities beyond academic excellence, and these include integrity, commitment, leadership and soft skills. A candidate without these qualities will not do well in the public service. Mindful that we should not compromise on our principle of meritocracy, we try to ensure that we have not missed out deserving candidates by casting our net as wide as possible so that we can take in candidates from schools other than Raffles and Hwa Chong where students who do well at earlier stages of their education tend to congregate.

We pay special attention to those from a humble background to draw out those who have great potential but may not yet have the polish and finesse of their more socio-economically advantaged peers. And we encourage our scholars to study in countries other than the US and UK. In order to enhance their understanding of the ground, many scholar public servants are exposed to operational postings. This helps keep them in touch with reality. Those from a humble background will be reminded of their roots while those from a well-off background will hopefully step out of their cocoon and learn about the rest of Singapore.

But despite all our best effort, there is no failsafe method of ensuring that every one of our scholar public servants is sensitive to ground issues and truly wants to serve.

There is a risk that if scholars we recruit fail to understand and empathize with the concerns of ordinary Singaporeans, the public mood will change. Should the public, extrapolating from the few to the many, come to increasingly question whether scholars make good public servants, it will begin to withdraw its support for our scholarship system.

There is no guarantee that a future government in Singapore will have the same political courage as the present one. In most democracies, very few governments will defend a system on the basis of principle in the face of overwhelming voter unhappiness.

If the public outcry against scholarships becomes deafening, the government may one day decide to drastically cut or even stop awarding scholarships altogether.

Next: Why scholarships are good