How Singapore’s schools prime youth for success in Hong Kong and mainland China
- Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools were introduced to develop bilingual students inculcated with traditional Chinese values
- This bilingualism has given Singaporean entrepreneurs the edge when they set up businesses in China
“There’s always this buzz and excitement when we talk about what’s going on in China,” noted Lim, who heads his own Shanghai-based investment and advisory firm, IJK Capital Partners.
“I guess our education has helped foster this affinity with China. They’re curious and it’s very easy for us to connect on the topic – more so than when I talk about the same things with friends from elsewhere, who tend to be less interested.”
Lim spent his secondary school years at The Chinese High School – an all-boys Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school that was also Singapore’s first Chinese-medium secondary school. It merged with the affiliated Hwa Chong Junior College in 2005 to become Hwa Chong Institution, offering students a six-year integrated programme as opposed to four years previously.
SAP schools were first introduced in Singapore in 1979 with the aim of preserving the traditional Chinese school cultural environment, in turn developing bilingual students who are inculcated with traditional Chinese values.
