Name : Francene Pang
Class : 4B3 (2025)
Question : 1
Equal access to education is enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter as one of the key values and aspirations that unite the Commonwealth. While the Commonwealth has come a long way on the journey towards this, there is still progress to be made. Imagine a Commonwealth in which everyone has the same access to education.
Envisioning equal access to education in the Commonwealth
Education is not just about books or exams, it’s about freedom. It gives people the opportunity to shape our future, support our families and contribute to the world we live in. That is why the Commonwealth Charter promises equal access to education. However, promises are not always reality. Most of us are fortunate enough to attend school while others are struggling to even get a chance to learn. The difference might be just a street away, or across an entire continent.
For me, the journey of understanding educational inequality began not in a distant country, but right inside my own home.
When COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing and schools in Singapore moved online, my brother and I had to share one single laptop. Most of the time, our classes would overlap. We did not have another device. I remember sitting with him in front of the screen, trying to find out ways to decide who would get to attend class “live”. In the end, we settled this issue with a game of rock paper scissors. The winner would get the laptop, while the loser would have to message the teacher, collect notes from their friends and try to catch up later. It became a strange routine, playing a game to win our right to learn.
We did our best to study, but the truth is: both of us failed to catch up. I could not believe that happened in a developed country with stable internet, electricity and supportive teachers. I started thinking that if this is hard for me, what about the kids who do not even have electricity, or a teacher to contact, or a school at all? That one laptop became a symbol of something bigger to me, it made me realise how unfair access to education can be, even within the family.
Later, during a class discussion on global education, I remember researching on how students in some commonwealth countries were learning during the pandemic. Based on the research, I have learnt that in rural areas of Nigeria, some children had to tune into the radio broadcasts to hear lessons. Additionally, in Mexico, schools remained closed far longer than the schools in Singapore, and many students in Mexico had no access to digital learning. Eventually, some students ended up working in fields or shops just to make sure the ends meet for their family. Honestly, I could not stop thinking about a story I read about a girl named Fatima from a Commonwealth country. Her family only had one electronic device and they had no internet at all. Every morning, Fatima would have to climb up a small hill near her house just to get a weak signal so that she could download the day’s homework. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it did not. Her dream was to become a doctor, but how can she build a future when her education depends on whether there is enough data or phone credit? Fatima’s story reminds me of how quickly dreams can vanish. It is not because of laziness or lack of effort, but because the system is not fair.
Even in Singapore, the difference between schools can be felt. I once visited a friend who goes to a top-tier independent school. Their library looked like something out of a movie, rows of gleaming computers, quiet study rooms and even a 3D printer in the design lab. It was exciting, but it made me a little disappointed. My school is okay but we did not have half of the facilities. Plus, I knew of other neighbourhood schools that had even less. I noticed how inequality can show up in small, almost invisible ways. A classmate who does not have a laptop. Another who worked part-time in the evenings to help with family expenses. A girl who dropped out for a while because her grandmother got sick and she had to take care of her younger siblings. Sometimes, the struggle isn’t obvious. But it’s always there, just beneath the surface
Now imagine a different kind of Commonwealth, where students like Fatima do not have to climb hills to study, where children in rural India can attend class through solar-powered tablets, where no girls had to skip school just because of her period, where students with disabilities are welcomed into schools that know how to teach them. In this vision, education is flexible and fair. Classrooms are built around students, not just schedules. Learning continues, even during floods, power outages, or pandemic, just because systems are built to include everyone. Most importantly, no kid’s future should be decided by what they can afford.
The Commonwealth is home to more than 2.5 billion people, and over half of them are just children. That is an incredible amount of potential, but if millions of young people are denied quality education, we all lose. Not just as individuals, but as a global community. Education is not just about jobs. It teaches us to think critically, care about others, and think about solutions to problems. It builds better leaders, more informed citizens and nicer societies. Every student who was pushed out of school is one less doctor, teacher, scientist or writer that the world needs. That is why equal access is urgent , not someday but now.
Looking back, I sometimes laugh at the memories of me and my brother playing rock, paper, scissors just to see who would get to attend class. Yet deep down, I will always appreciate how lucky we are to have a laptop, to have teachers who understand and to live in a country that cares about education.
Many students in the Commonwealth are still waiting for that chance. They do not need pity, but action. Better funding, fairer systems and voices who speak up for them. And maybe, just maybe, one of those voices could be mine. Because when it comes to education, no one should have to gamble for their future.
MJR World of Words 