"Study mama" is a

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an term describing foreign women who accompany their children to

to benefit from its education system by receiving primary and secondary-level education. The study mama phenomenon began around 2000, after the Singaporean government relaxed its immigration policies to allow more foreigners to study or work in the country. Most often, these study mamas are from

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, where they are also known as péidú māmā (陪读妈妈), but nationalities from other countries such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

have also been observed.

Overview

Introduction

The

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA, zh, 移民與關卡局；) is a law enforcement agency within the Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the border control agency responsible for frontline border c ...

(ICA) of Singapore possesses records that suggest that there were at least 10,300 study mamas of various nationalities, with two-thirds of the study mamas in Singapore in July 2005 coming from mainland China. Of these 6,800 study mamas, only 1,500 have been issued work permits. Most working study mamas are employed in the service sector.

Jobs

In an article in China's ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...

'', it is estimated that peidu mamas require

RMB The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...

¥1 million (approx S$217,000) of living and education expenses for their child to receive education from Primary 1 to Secondary 4 in Singapore. Subsequently, the Singaporean government will allow them to come to Singapore, primarily to accompany their children during their studies here. Peidu mamas are only allowed to obtain work permits after staying in Singapore for a year and are permitted to work in certain service sectors only.

Restrictions

The government places restrictions on the employment of study mamas, arguing that the primary purpose of their stay is to take care of their children. Hence, they should not be working, especially not as hostesses in bars or

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s at night. They are not allowed to work at food stalls, but can work in other services industries if a permit was given.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Study Mama Academic pressure in East Asian culture China–Singapore relations Culture of Singapore Education in Singapore Immigration to Singapore Maternity in Singapore

Overview

Introduction

Jobs

Restrictions

See also

References