On Equity and Fairness

In view of my impending dictatorship, some plans and thoughts have to be trashed out first so that the future implementation is as smooth as possible.

A friend of mine drew my attention to an article in the Star that he penned (okay so at least the paper is not all propoganda) regarding scholarships for rich kids. Incidentally, I had been contemplating (yes this is how I fill up my free time) on the same issue but on a more general scale.

There have been many calls by various quarters over the years in our country to award education scholarships/university places based on meritocracy. As much as it seems a wonderful and just idea, on closer inspection it's not so simple as giving you your place cause you have a couple more A's.

What meritocracy assumes (and champions) is that we all have equal opportunities. Most people would see "equal opportunities" as you getting your chance because you "deserve" it, i.e. you have better results.

However, it is also important then, to consider whether all of us had equal opportunities right from the start. Reality is, we don't. Some of us have good parents, some of us have no parents, some are poor, some are rich, some are better academically, some have better teachers etc. So strictly speaking "meritocracy" doesn't exist.

So now one questions. Is it fair then to compare and allocate university places or scholarships (as far as govt sponsored scholarships as a public service) solely based on one's academic results? If not, how then do we decide?

What irks me most nowadays are students from well to do families complaining night and day about fairness and equality when they don't get a scholarship. They need a reality check. Firstly, scholarships are a privilledge, not a right. It's not stated in the Malaysian constitution that you will get that scholarship because you scored more A's than another person. Secondly, they would do well to consider other families who struggle to send their kid to high school, let alone Uni before they decide to start ranting about equality.

That unnecessary rant aside, there needs to be a way to recognize the talents of different people, ensuring that they are not handicapped by their circumstance. Also needed is a way to draw out those talents from within them, and giving them a platform to express themselves.