SMU Associate Professor of English Literature Kirpal Singh shared his thoughts on academic meritocracy in Singapore. He said that people tend to think in polarities – that one area is somehow going to undermine another – and do not seem to think there can be a win-win situation. He is of the opinion that the government now realises that almost everyone in Singapore merits a real role and can be a real contributor to the evolution of a new society. However, people’s perceptions are so embedded in the old paradigm.