First of all, congrats to Yihui, who made it to University of Leicester to study medicine. Guess what, she ONLY (only to some Singaporeans) has a diploma from a polytechnic.
In the paper society that is Singapore, everyone wants to be in the same route: EM1, Raffles, 10/11 A1s at O levels, RJC/HCJC, 4 As 2 S papers, scholarship, study at Harvard/MIT/Cambridge/Oxford, or do medicine, law. The lessser routes are to get a university degree at at least NUS, if not you are fucked.
I remember a convo with Yihan the other day at Matsuya, about the need for all Singaporeans to obtain a University degree. America allows it. ALL students go to college, pay for it with financial aid/or work through summer. Not only the best and the brightest get to go to college, but rather, it is an opportunity for all. It doesn't matter if it is Harvard/Princton or XYZ college in some state. Everyone has the opportunity. Regardless of skill.
Maybe it's time to rethink our education system. Where diplomas are always seen to be the lesser cousins to a university degree. I remember being shocked when Yihui decided to go Poly, and yes, I admit I am surprise she went so far with a diploma. Maybe times are changing, of course, she's the cream of the crop, so to many poly students, Uni education can only be a dream.
After all, you limit personal advancement if you limit university degrees. In a hierarchal society that is Singapore, I feel that we try to hard, almost, to limit the number of University graduates we have. This is wrong. Singapore cannot survive in the future with a citizenship that expects its government to supply them with a job, security, independence etc. It is time for us to find our own niche, to fight for what we want, and for Singapore to become a global city.
I think Yihan said some pertinent points that I want to share. Singapore should be a global city, much like New York, London, maybe even Hongkong. There must be no "Singaporean VS them" mentality. We are all immigrants, doing our best in a country where our resources are in one word, us. After all, we are barely 40 years old as a nation; my dad is older than my country!
So cut the reins, allow tertiary education, promote lifelong learning, loose the boundaries, allow Singapore to compete globally. We have the human resources to compete globally, we have the talent, as students like Penny have shown. We have the dreamers of the world, we have those who are willing to sacrifice and work to their limit, we have the visionaries.
Well, congrats to Yihui =) So this makes the 10th? person from 01S70 to study abroad. Well, I love my class haha...
P.S. Ty to Maria for bringing this to our attention.
lip
ranting
Thursday, March 30, 2006
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4 comments:
Just dropped in from London, England, on random blog surfing.
I enjoyed readig some of your blog - and agreed with what you said about lifelong education and opportunities for everyone.
Some Universities in England are now much more open to taking all sort of people and giving them a chance. But its still very much to do with money.
thank you:) I happen to study overseas as well, so am educated "Americanly" haha
Ideally so, but there are also economic constraints to supporting every citizen's tertiary education.
America isn't as utopian as many people perceive it to be. Most people don't go to college also. Affirmative action is controversial. In fact, I believe that more americans have the america-centric view of "us versus rest of the world". Just look at the barriers to becoming an american citizen, or the different treatments of Americans and non-american citizens.
As you've said, Singapore is only 40 years old. Some things cannot be achieved overnight. I believe we're getting there, though.
-blink
But I believe that in America, it is easier to go to college. Maybe not to a big college, like Princeton or Harvard, but the many state colleges that are around. Moreover, the opportunities that are available in America, I would claim, are more numerous than that in Singapore. Perhaps it's because of size, but Singaporeans have to also realise that the world is now their playground. Only the elite can claim to have that mentality now.
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