A/HRC/17/40/Add.2 Racial Harmony Day on 21 July to mark the anniversary of the 1964 communal riots. According to the Ministry of Education, this day serves to remind Singaporean pupils that promoting social cohesion and racial harmony requires constant effort. It is a day for schools to reflect on and celebrate the success of Singapore as a harmonious nation and society built on a rich diversity of cultures and heritages. 40. The Special Rapporteur would like to commend the Government for these fruitful policies and programmes. He indeed takes the view that they have very much contributed to the peaceful coexistence of the diverse communities in Singapore and as such, constitute good practices that may be shared with other States. 41. According to Government officials, the principle of meritocracy, which is at the core of the public educational system and Singaporean society more generally, ensures that all children are offered equal opportunities. On the face of it, meritocracy appears to be a laudable and legitimate principle. However, the Special Rapporteur notes that where there are acknowledged historical inequalities, as is the case with Malay students, this principle may contribute to entrenching these inequalities, rather than to correcting them. Despite statistics showing that great progress has been made in the last decades, Malay students seem to always remain below national average. As an illustration, the Special Rapporteur was informed that since Singapore’s independence, only two Malay students had been granted the President’s Scholarship, which is awarded to the best students in the country. Moreover, although the proportion of Malay pupils with at least five O-level passes has increased from 46 per cent in 1998 to 59.4 per cent in 2007 and the proportion of a Malay Primary One cohort admitted to post-secondary education institutions has increased from 62.6 per cent in 1998 to 83.5 per cent in 2007, the performance of their Chinese counterparts has consistently remained better over the years.10 42. The Special Rapporteur was told during his mission that all communities adhered to the principle of meritocracy and that none would support the introduction of ethnic quotas. Yet, he would like to stress that Malay students who are persistently left behind may find it difficult to continue to adhere to the principle of meritocracy in the future. Indeed, if this principle is not perceived as benefiting all individuals living in Singapore in an equitable manner, members of the Malay community may well start to feel some resentment in the years or decades to come. 43. In addition to the above, the Special Rapporteur was informed that Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools had been established in 1979 to provide an enriched teaching and learning environment for academically gifted students, who are destined to form the cultural elite of the country. He was also informed by the Ministry of Education that there exist equivalent programmes to nurture gifted Malay and Tamil students, albeit not in a whole-school setting. While English is the primary language of instruction in SAP schools and the latter appear to be open to all students, these schools are de facto restricted to Mandarin speakers. Indeed, the Special Rapporteur was told by various interlocutors that SAP schools seek to promote Mandarin as a tool for cultural transmission, but also for its economic advantage in terms of trade and investment in mainland China. This has led to some resentment among non-Mandarin speakers. Critics argue that these schools favouring Chinese language and culture are a visible symbol of the marginalization of ethnic minorities, and that they create the impression that there is a hierarchy of cultures in Singapore. In this context, critiques have also been expressed vis-à-vis the fact that nonChinese students were not allowed to study Mandarin in schools. They are compelled to take courses in their mother tongue and must ask for special permission from the Ministry 10 Singapore, Ministry of Education, 2009 Education Statistics Digest, pp. 53-55. Available from www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-statistics-digest/files/esd-2009.pdf. 13