Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) [*IP]
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Fern-Leaf,
Since you feel so strongly about the unfairness of high school fees associated with independent schools, perhaps you’d like to write an impassioned letter to MOE who would be able to directly address your concerns.
We can’t help you on this RGS thread. We don’t deal with MOE policy matters. The parents here give support to each other on school matters, syllabus, CCA etc; where newer parents seek advice from the more experienced parents. We all chose RGS as the school for our daughters, having done our research and knowing full well that it is an independent school, what the school fees are, what the school offers in terms of academics and extra-curricular activities, what the standard of the school is, what the Rafflesian Spirit means and much more.
If you still feel strongly that independent schools are unfairly high in school fees, and you cannot justify sending your daughter to RGS as a matter of principle, I’m sure you could raise this with MOE as well. -
Fern-Leaf:
as long as the kids qualify and are admitted to the independent school, no one will be denied a place due to financial background. go and find out from the schools first before making a false accusation and blasting the MOE and school unnecessarily.
You still don't get my point on EESIS : if the government makes every student of independent schools to pay $25 or $30 per month, just like all other secondary schools, it can keep its EESIS. If students' PSLE results are good enough to be admitted into independent schools, they should not be made to worry about whether their parents could afford to pay for their education in independent schools, or whether their parents are poor enough to win the government's sympathy to subsidise their fees in independent schools! Students should be focused on deciding which schools they are eligible to get in and which schools they would like to go in.
all independent schools have financial assistance plan for needy children, even for non-compulosry items like overseas trip.
no kids in independent school is deprived.
you are so deprived in all the info -
Fern-Leaf:
keroppi:
[quote=\"onemore\"]I think the fundamental question is – are the fees now getting too high as such limits the choices that some parents could make?
Are there that many independent schools in Singapore :? Like what some parents have pointed out, (apart from EEISS) there are financial assistance plans in place if one really cannot afford the fees. Everyone will be given that application form.
You should ask how many \"independent schools\" the government wants to name.
Even Wee Cho Yaw's grand children would be given the application form if they asked for one, who doesn't know!
Care to define what you meant by \"if one really cannot afford the fees\"?[/quote]even if wee cho yaw's grand children were to be given the form, it does not mean he/she will get financial assistance if the family income does not justify financial assistance
if the family income of the kid justifies it, they will get it
being a grand child of wee cho yaw does not necessarily mean the grand child has a share of wee cho yaw's wealth
duh ! -
I know I’m not exactly an adult, but I’d like to give my opinions.
RGS is an independent school. By choice, we receive less government funding in exchange for other autonomies, such as our Board of Governors and other governance-related freedoms (e.g. teacher-hiring). That’s part of what makes RGS unique, and well - RGS.
Once could compare RGS to schools in the US such as Phillips Andover or Exeter Academies. These are private institutions that are some of the best schools in the world. Small, extremely small class sizes, gorgeous school grounds, really qualified teachers, selective, nerdish atmosphere, funding for all their extracurriculars and trips and unaffected by state budget cuts - these all come at a price. And no, they are not targeted at expatriates, but locals (Americans). Private boarding schools are the "Raffles" of the US, if I may call them that. But the point, though, that is more obvious in US but nonetheless applies here, especially in this context - there are so many different education systems. Here we have private, public, independent, specialized (SSS, SOTA, NUSHS, SST), religious too. This is diversity, this involves trade-offs, this is life. Make your choice. You have a choice. Be thankful because you have a choice.
I use independent school and private school interchangeably here, because even though we do receive a certain amount of governmental funding, in the aspect that we receive less government fundings and instead derive income from school fees is where these two systems are similar. Our local independent school system is rather unique, it is a cross between the US charter/public and private systems, and therefore one cannot easily compare. The point I’m trying to make is however, that in life there is no equality, only relative equality and choice. If financial considerations is part of your life - that would be the same for billions of other families across the world. Even in the US, millions of students reject higher-ranked privates for their own state universities, due to financial problems. There is no perfect system. The thing though, is that each of these systems accords you choice. There may be trade-offs, but that’s just life. As a parent, you need to decide which is more important to you - are you willing to sacrifice for you child’s education? I have relatives in the US who’re working multiple jobs to pay off their children’s university bills. Sure, university is different from secondary school - but there are also schools like Andover and Exeter, Trinity, Brearley, Roxbury Latin, Collegiate, St. Pauls; these prep boarding schools are some of the best schools in the world, who charge similar tuitions to universities - I don’t however have personal experience.
As a society, I think we should move towards greater equality for all children. This is however not always possible. We try to, but unless we turn into a draconian totalitarian state and all aspects of state are entirely nationalized, that will never happen. Of course I hope that we can improve the fees structure. And improvements may happen, but never expect entire equality. It is good enough that we have diversity, and a choice. There are many comparable public schools - NJC comes to mind here, and many others. I sympathize with the complains (maybe not sufficiently since I’m not a breadwinner here), but I’d also like to point out that - if you take a step back and see, our system’s not really that bad. We have diversity, choice, different systems, each with their own strengths. You choose. We have financial assistance schemes that do help the poorest (I’ve got a friend whose family of 6 has an income less than $3000, she’s in RGS and doing very well). If you decide that it’s not worth it, then well - there are many more choices in life to make. We can’t get angry over all of these (choices) (if we do, then there’s no more time to just live life and be happy). -
a child:
I know I'm not exactly an adult, but I'd like to give my opinions.
RGS is an independent school. By choice, we receive less government funding in exchange for other autonomies, such as our Board of Governors and other governance-related freedoms (e.g. teacher-hiring). That's part of what makes RGS unique, and well - RGS.
Once could compare RGS to schools in the US such as Phillips Andover or Exeter Academies. These are private institutions that are some of the best schools in the world. Small, extremely small class sizes, gorgeous school grounds, really qualified teachers, selective, nerdish atmosphere, funding for all their extracurriculars and trips and unaffected by state budget cuts - these all come at a price. And no, they are not targeted at expatriates, but locals (Americans). Private boarding schools are the \"Raffles\" of the US, if I may call them that. But the point, though, that is more obvious in US but nonetheless applies here, especially in this context - there are so many different education systems. Here we have private, public, independent, specialized (SSS, SOTA, NUSHS, SST), religious too. This is diversity, this involves trade-offs, this is life. Make your choice. You have a choice. Be thankful because you have a choice.
I use independent school and private school interchangeably here, because even though we do receive a certain amount of governmental funding, in the aspect that we receive less government fundings and instead derive income from school fees is where these two systems are similar. Our local independent school system is rather unique, it is a cross between the US charter/public and private systems, and therefore one cannot easily compare. The point I'm trying to make is however, that in life there is no equality, only relative equality and choice. If financial considerations is part of your life - that would be the same for billions of other families across the world. Even in the US, millions of students reject higher-ranked privates for their own state universities, due to financial problems. There is no perfect system. The thing though, is that each of these systems accords you choice. There may be trade-offs, but that's just life. As a parent, you need to decide which is more important to you - are you willing to sacrifice for you child's education? I have relatives in the US who're working multiple jobs to pay off their children's university bills. Sure, university is different from secondary school - but there are also schools like Andover and Exeter, Trinity, Brearley, Roxbury Latin, Collegiate, St. Pauls; these prep boarding schools are some of the best schools in the world, who charge similar tuitions to universities - I don't however have personal experience.
As a society, I think we should move towards greater equality for all children. This is however not always possible. We try to, but unless we turn into a draconian totalitarian state and all aspects of state are entirely nationalized, that will never happen. Of course I hope that we can improve the fees structure. And improvements may happen, but never expect entire equality. It is good enough that we have diversity, and a choice. There are many comparable public schools - NJC comes to mind here, and many others. I sympathize with the complains (maybe not sufficiently since I'm not a breadwinner here), but I'd also like to point out that - if you take a step back and see, our system's not really that bad. We have diversity, choice, different systems, each with their own strengths. You choose. We have financial assistance schemes that do help the poorest (I've got a friend whose family of 6 has an income less than $3000, she's in RGS and doing very well). If you decide that it's not worth it, then well - there are many more choices in life to make. We can't get angry over all of these (choices) (if we do, then there's no more time to just live life and be happy).
:goodpost: A child, if you had not mentioned before that you are in Sec 2 , I would have thought this post comes from a much older kid.. you have such maturity beyond your years. -
Fern-Leaf:
keroppi:
[quote=\"onemore\"]I think the fundamental question is – are the fees now getting too high as such limits the choices that some parents could make?
Are there that many independent schools in Singapore :? Like what some parents have pointed out, (apart from EEISS) there are financial assistance plans in place if one really cannot afford the fees. Everyone will be given that application form.
You should ask how many \"independent schools\" the government wants to name.
Even Wee Cho Yaw's grand children would be given the application form if they asked for one, who doesn't know!
Care to define what you meant by \"if one really cannot afford the fees\"?[/quote]
hi friendship/ fern leaf,
We have a choice! Let's not take away that birth rights of making decision. All of us here with good intention to share info. It's your child and the choice is ultimately to decide what you wish for …. if you think you have an axe to grind towards just one school, we suggest you look at the picture and write to MOE instead. -
Fern Leaf,
The members of our parents networking groups are in general very warm and welcoming of our new members. When you first posted your questions, several parents patiently answered your question and explained that this forum is not the right outlet for you to vent your frustrations. However, you continued to bait members with your line of questioning and replies. In your latest posts, you have now resorted to name-calling which demonstrates your level of maturity. I regret to inform you have now outlived your welcome. -
Maybe…have we taken education for granted for a long time? The government can provide a cheaper general education for everybody but a relatively higher quality education (with smaller student/teacher ratio etc…) will come with a higher cost. We have to decide, then, which group of students can receive this "more priviledged" education and of course with higher cost, who should bear the cost.
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Moderator's Note:
Administrative action has been taken to ban a member for insulting other members. Related posts have been embargoed in the Councilors' Forum for review. -
Thanks Chief.
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