Latest TODAY column: An email letter to parents.
Excerpt:
From: Ministry of Education for Normal Children
Re: Change in policy with regards to school fees
Dear parents,
I hope this letter finds you well. I write to you to explain some changes to current school policy.
With the exception of those with children in the Elite Self-Sufficient Autonomously Independent School Scheme (which are allowed to charge higher fees), most of you have been paying the same school fees for your children all this while.
We wish to inform you that, with immediate effect, all children studying in mainstream schools will pay school fees according to the new means testing scheme.
FYI, there is currently an online petition called "Concerns Over Reduction Of Subsidies For Special Needs Children", started by a parent with a special needs child. Go lend your support and sign it.
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Full column:
An email letter to parents
From: Ministry of Education for Normal Children
Re: Change in policy with regards to school fees
Dear parents,
I hope this letter finds you well. I write to you to explain some changes to current school policy.
With the exception of those with children in the Elite Self-Sufficient Autonomously Independent School Scheme (which are allowed to charge higher fees), most of you have been paying the same school fees for your children all this while.
We wish to inform you that, with immediate effect, all children studying in mainstream schools will pay school fees according to the new means testing scheme.
Now, secondary school students are paying $5 a month (after subsidy) and $8 in miscellaneous fees. Some autonomous schools also charge additional second-tier miscellaneous fees of up to $18 a month.
This is going to change because the cost of education has gotten too high and we have limited funds to dispense.
Hence, families that earn below $2,500 will retain their full subsidies and continue to pay the low fees they currently enjoy. Families that earn above $3,500 will have their subsidies reduced gradually over the next five years, till they reach zero.
In fact, in order to ensure that the poor get the help they need, and those who can afford it begin to bear the full cost of their child's education, we will be charging wealthier families the full cost of educating their children.
If your family income is more than $5,000 a month, your child's school fees will range from $500 to $1,000 a month. I am sure you will agree this is a fair amount, since as middle-class families, you can afford to pay this amount. It may mean giving up some luxuries, like a car, but it is a small price to pay for your child's education.
Even the local universities are starting to realise the need to raise their fees year on year, ranging from 3 per cent to 15 per cent (depending on whether the university is located in an out-of-the-way location, or the central business district where land is more expensive). It was only a matter of time before primary and secondary schools undergo fee restructuring.
In addition, we regret to inform you that there is going to be a waiting list for your children of school-going age. We just do not have enough places and teachers in our schools, so some of your children will have to be placed on the list.
In the meantime, you may wish to place your children in expensive private schools until they are admitted into mainstream schools.
Please note that these private schools will charge fees ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 a month, and are not covered by any government subsidies.
We will also be extending means testing to the price of school textbooks and uniforms. In addition, items like shoelaces will be optional and an extra cost for unsubsidised families.
Concessionary travel on public transport will also be changed. Children from families who do not qualify for subsidies will have to pay full fare for bus and train travel, and will not be issued bus passes. Children who qualify for partial subsidies will get to pay student fares, but during non-peak hours.
Our canteen operators are also requesting that they be allowed to charge different prices for their food on school premises. With rising costs, they are finding it hard to maintain prices, especially since we will be raising their rent to market rates soon. School canteens will also be renamed: School Food Courts.
Subsidised children will be able to pay $1.50 for a bowl of noodles, while unsubsidised children will have to pay $3 a bowl (plus a non-subsidised rate of 50 cents for every two extra fishballs).
In addition, the canteen drinks stalls will no longer include ice in their drinks for children of unsubsidised families. Ice will cost 20 cents more. Children from subsidised families will get free ice in their drinks
School bus operators have told us that they will also be implementing a similar means testing scheme for bus fees. And families not covered by subsidies will also have to pay extra if they do not wish their children to be picked up at 5.30am.
Of course, families that do not qualify for subsidies may appeal, and submit their income statements and receipts of their monthly expenses, and be subject to interviews, so that we can review it on a case-by-case basis.
We are sure you will find this a much fairer way of distributing education funds. After all, the parents of special needs children are already undergoing means testing, with those families with incomes above $3,500 losing their subsidies in five years' time. And these families also face long waiting lists to get their children into early intervention programs and special schools.
If families with special needs children have to live with this, we are confident that families with normal children can too. My counterparts at the Ministry of Special Needs Subsidies tell me that their scheme was very successfully implemented, so we are sure this will work for us too.
We look forward to your continued support in helping create a level-playing field and a land of equal opportunities for all your children to get ahead. After all, we all want a Singapore that is open and inclusive.
Yours sincerely,
Director of Means Testing,
Ministry of Education for Normal Children
mr brown is the accidental author of a popular website that has been documenting the dysfunctional side of Singapore life since 1997. His oldest daughter, Faith, is 5 years old and autistic. She is currently in a special school on an early intervention programme.
