Meritocracy

I have no problem with meritocracy..no problem at all if everything is on an equal playing field. Almost all students in the urban areas have excess to better facilities than those in the rural areas. I am not surprised if many students in the urban areas scored better grades than those from rural areas. They should ....with all the tuitions, internet connections, workbooks etc etc, they have no reason not to score.

The same goes to students from boarding and elite schools. They have better teachers and better facilities and they should score better. No excuse, period. But what about those students from the rural areas? There are no tuition centres to go to if they failed to understand those subjects taught in school.....no extra workbooks since they are too poor to buy them. Workbooks are luxuries to these students since food is the utmost important thing in their lives. No internet to connect them with the outer world... If they scored in their exams, it means they are much better than those from urban areas. If they got 4 to 5 A's, they are still much better than those who got the same grades from the urban areas. Just imagine what would they score if they are given the same facilities as those from the urban areas. I am pretty sure they can score much better.

So in this situation, meritocracy is just an unfair practice to them. They should be given opportunities to further their studies than those who scored the same grades from the urban areas. Those who championed meritocracy without taking any consideration for those who have limited access to better facilities are just being unfair. The government should seriously consider all factors before awarding any scholarships to students. In all fairness, these students deserve the scholarships to further their studies. Must we forget them and let their future generation be poor like them since all we care is meritocracy? If we think meritocracy is the only factor to award scholarships then we are only selfish and we failed miserably to be fair and just.

We are not the only ones entitled to free education. There are other people who deserved them more than us. What's wrong of paying our own education if we can afford it. Why not share free educations with others instead of taking everything that seems to be ours? Your right? Aren't they Malaysians and they have rights too? Can't we do the honorable thing to let others taste some success too? Can't we sometimes step aside and say there are other people who need the scholarships more than us? Can we?