November 30, 2021

In ‘Lower-income families with young kids worst hit by pandemic: Study’ (The Straits Times, 2021), Professor Jean Wei-Jun Yeung (NUS CFPR and Department of Sociology) shares how the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG Leads), a large-scale study that  involves 4,355 children, found that home-based learning during the Covid-19 pandemic put kids from needy households at a greater disadvantage. While 98 per cent of children in private property have a computer or tablet, only 88 per cent of children living in HDB rental flats have the same.

Of families who had someone who lost a job during the pandemic, 20 per cent comprised of households who lived in HDB rental flats. In comparison, those living in private property they own or rent made up only 5 per cent of the category.

Prof Yeung explained that more families in HDB rental flats experienced job loss, as most work in lower-wage jobs in industries that were badly hit by Covid-19, such as the service industry and cleaning. She also noted that parents who were financially better-off were better equipped to aid their children with home-based learning or even hire extra tutors to help their children cope with the changes.

To avoid disadvantages arising from the pandemic being passed down to the next generation of lower-income families, sustained assistance is needed. To help families cope with the financial impact of the pandemic, the Singapore Government introduced a host of broad-based support schemes and targeted financial aid, such as the Covid-19 Recovery Grant and Temporary Relief Fund.

Read the article here.