banding by 2024. Besides this, the Government will also combine the O-Level and N-Level examinations into one common national examination.
Thirty-eight years ago on 17 Feb 1981, about a year after the streaming system was implemented, Dr Tan questioned the system and asserted that streaming will give rise to “intellectual snobbery” in society. “Why do parents do this? Is it because they think they know their children’s capabilities better? Or is it to avoid losing out in the social class struggle?”“Class division, undesirable though it may be, exists in muted form in our society. This is expressed in the way Singaporeans go increasingly for prestigious brands of clothing, bags, shoes, cars and even schools.
“Perhaps the Prime Minister’s observation on mixed housing applies equally to our schools – a good mix of abilities will certainly go a long way to discourage intellectual snobbery which I think is far worse than social snobbery.”