The Home Ownership plus Education Scheme , more commonly known as the HOPE Scheme, provides support to poor families in the form of education bursaries, housing grants and mentoring services. However, such an arrangement comes with strings attached: families cannot have more than two children, or they will no longer be eligible for the scheme. Cash incentives are also given out to fund ligation or vasectomy procedures.
One may argue that it makes sense to discourage low-income families from having children they cannot afford, but this goes far beyond mere "discouraging". The families are in no position to refuse the financial and material assistance offered by the government, and are therefore unlikely to have any other choice but to comply. In this way the HOPE Scheme does not discourage poor families from having less children - it coerces them into doing so. Full story
Related:
222 families join HOPE scheme in 2012: Chan Chun Sing - XIN MSN News
