A little bugbear...

One thing I cannot really stand is the insistent calls for the university places in Singapore to be given much more widely for polytechnic graduates. Such calls often border on the emotive appeal that such said graduates deserve a place just simply because of the perceived lack of equal opportunity among other reasons.

Polytechic education is defined as a post secondary education or if one wants to be more anal, advance vocational training. However it does not detract from the risks that most 'A' level students take and the more intense pressure they undergo in order to qualify for a local university place in Singapore.

One could also point to the scholar churning machineries of RJC/HCJC et al as proof that 'A' level students are too exam smart to be of any practical use in the world and that a poly graduate would trump them any time of the day when it comes down to hands on experience. This, to me, is just like saying a New Zealand apple's sweetness trumps a Sunkist Orange's sweetness any time of the day. Which is essentially incomparable.

Arguments for expansion of univeristy places for poly students by citing examples of successful polytechnic graduates doing well overseas is somewhat of a moot point I think. I guess I can understand the frustrations of having to go overseas to do a degree but hey it affords one another kind of unique experience be it lifestyle or education, that one would not be able to obtain at home.

If those graduates stayed on elsewhere to make their own life, hey, it is called choice making. Golly, I don't think they should waste their time away grudging the same system that, although, drove them away initially but ironically gave them another shot in another system that help them made good. They can always go back to Singapore and earn their thousands/millions, no one is forcing them to stay away.

Ok, end of rant. The offending article below.




From Todayonline (13/12/2004):

Poly graduates deserve half of places at local universities
There are three universities in Singapore, but the majority of their students are A-level graduates.
.
With three A-level passes, students qualify for a degree course in any of the three institutions.
.
For polytechnic students, however, even with a diploma and industrial training experience, they can enter the local universities only if they are among the top five per cent at their schools.
.
As a result, A levels are often regarded as the only route to acquiring a degree.
.
What I do not understand is: Why only the top 5 per cent of poly grads? Shouldn't equal opportunity be given to both cohorts?
.
The universities could set aside half of their intakes for JC students and the other half for poly students.
.
The current situation results in a loss of talent, specifically polytechnic graduates who are proficient both in theory and practice.
.
Those unable to get to university here seek opportunities aboard and, upon graduating, some continue to live abroad.
.
We have heard plenty about overhauling the Chinese Language curriculum.
.
I hope changes regarding the intake of university students will be proposed at the next sitting of Parliament.
.
.
Janice Ng