Compulsory education was legislated in Singapore in 2000. This came several decades after the attainment of universal primary education and after numerous assertions on the part of the government that such legislation was unnecessary. Also interesting is that the period of compulsory education was limited to six years. The article discusses the background to the introduction of the compulsory education legislation and highlights ongoing tensions as the Singapore state attempts to grapple with the role of education in economic development and social cohesion. (Contains 1 table.)