Sending Children to Singapore to Study

Dear editor,

There are people who have to commute frequently by plane just to visit their loved ones in a foreign land. Most of these people are high income earners who are able to support their family's affluent lifestyle abroad.

For the sake of their children, the breadwinners remain in their native land while their spouse and children remain overseas, trying hard to adapt to the new environment.

To compensate for their long absence, these fathers will frequently fly over once or twice every two months, bringing bags of local groceries and lavishing them with gifts.

I am a full-time Chinese tutor. Due to my occupation, I have known some Korean mothers who are brave and strong enough to overcome this difficult time in their life.

The new environment, the loneliness and the language barrier and even a series of culture shocks often prove too much for them to handle and they are sorely tempted to pack and leave. But, for the sake of their children's education, they decide to stay on despite all the inconvenience they experience in the new country.

Instead of sending their children to the more popular United States for education, these Korean mothers' decision to send their children to Singapore seems to be quite an unusual choice. However, in recent years, the number of Korean students studying in Singapore has been steadily rising.

``I want my children to be able to speak fluently in both English and Chinese. Singapore is our top choice due to the bilingual education policy, cleanliness, low crime rate and good standard of living. Most importantly, the flight duration from Seoul to Singapore is less than seven hours.''

Pressured to get into top notch universities, most Korean students find themselves slogging through their high school days from morning till midnight. And right after school, they have to rush to private tutoring (usually at a private institute).

To pull their children away from this system, the only way is out is to send their children abroad. Earning a basic degree is not enough. In times of globalization, the ability to converse in English and Chinese apart from their native language is definitely a bonus when they are searching for jobs in their native land.

Within months at a school here, most of these Korean children are able to converse both in English and Mandarin quite fluently. Some of them even speak like the locals.

In the meantime, these Korean fathers have to endure the inconvenience of shuttling between their native land to Singapore frequently, not forgetting to bring bags of local groceries and traditional rice cakes specially made by their grandmothers for their beloved grandchildren.

Chua Chern Nee Singapore younggun_007sg@yahoo.com.sg