When Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawerence Wong was selecting a secondary school following his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) exams, he was questioned as to why he did not attend a "so-called elite" school.
In a recent interview conducted in Mandarin by Mediacorp, Wong stated that he chose to attend Tanjong Katong Secondary Technical School (TKSTS), later renamed Tanjong Katong Secondary School, primarily because a number of his family members and close friends attended.
Wong, who later received a Public Service Commission scholarship to attend university overseas, disclosed that his PSLE scores were "not bad." He was responding to a question about his choice of secondary school in light of the misconception that the majority of government scholarship recipients attend elite schools.
Prior to enrolling at TKSTS, Wong, 49, received his primary school education at Haig Boys' School, where his mother taught, along with "all the boys in the family," including his older brother and cousin.
"Everyone I knew from Haig Boys' – family and friends – selected Tanjong Katong, so I didn't consider any other schools," he stated in the fourth and final episode of Be My Guest season 4, which aired on Channel 8 on Saturday (11 June) night.
Nevertheless, Wong, who attended TKSTS from 1985 to 1988, deemed it a "good choice." Even though it was a neighborhood school near his home, he said, "there's no doubt I received an excellent education."
"Today, we say that every school is good," said Wong, who is also the Finance Minister and co-chair of the multi-ministry COVID-19 task force. "I believe I understood this statement in the 1980s," he added.
Wong, who was a prefect throughout his time at the school, finally finished at the top of his O-Level class and attended Victoria Junior College.
Wong was interviewed by news and current affairs presenter Tung Soo Hua during the hour-long episode.
During their visit to Wong's secondary school, he pointed to a wall of former TKSTS students, among them himself and former minister Yaacob Ibrahim.
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