8 Junior Colleges are Merging? Rumors or Reality?
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yuki2010:
If your child study overseas, will be on papa-mama savings,isetan:
It will just simply encourage more mid tier students to go overseas for their further education.
will the government give more grant to students studying in overseas uni?
Many families cannot afford that.
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floppy:
Sounds brutal. But true, and I agree with you. This is what I tell my DDs too, that they have to work HARD for what they want. If, in the end, that's not enough, it is alright as they know they have tried their best, and we see how we can move on from there.
While earning a degree may be one's desire (who set this rule anyway?), ensuring that everyone gets one isn't the Gov job. A university place isn't the same as your pink IC where every Singaporean should get one. You want a place in university? Work for it. If you CMI, think of better things to do with your life. It's not the end of the world.
No one guarantee every A level students a place in university, and that's why there's an examination to qualify (a.k.a. the Air Level). It's a risk that every A level student willingly partake. If you are mid tier or the results aren't good enough, you don't qualify. If you are not willing to take the challenge, choose a different path to take. If you have decided to take on the challenge, it's nobody's fault but yours when you fail to clear the hurdle. It's not that difficult to understand really.
As for foreigners in our local universities, I am actually of the belief that there should be foreign students in every university. Universities are different from say primary schools. Foreign students, visiting professors, etc -- all these add to the diversity and richness of the uni education, and contributes to the competitiveness and global standing of the universities themselves. Even though \"reserving\" all the places for local students would mean easier entry for our kids, I am not sure that in the long run that is actually good for our children, our universities or our country. -
MotherHen:
As for foreigners in our local universities, I am actually of the belief that there should be foreign students in every university. Universities are different from say primary schools. Foreign students, visiting professors, etc -- all these add to the diversity and richness of the uni education, and contributes to the competitiveness and global standing of the universities themselves. Even though \"reserving\" all the places for local students would mean easier entry for our kids, I am not sure that in the long run that is actually good for our children, our universities or our country.
I agree with this too. And don't Singaporeans send their kids overseas, and not all because they can't get into local universities? Having a mix of cultures is a good thing. As long as MOE does what it says - i.e. provides enough places so that their target of 40% of the local cohort is able to get a university education (whether than includes those who study overseas or not, I don't know) - then having some places for foreign students who make the grade is not a bad thing. -
In all fairness, many Singapore children get accepted into overseas uni but somehow are not deemed good enough for local Unis. That is because they have been restricted by an arbitrary number 30%-40% set by our govt due to some strategic considerations. And this group of students on papamama scholarships can also do well enough to graduate, not that they can't study.
Let's not forget that many of these foreigners come to study on scholarship, that is, with taxpayers' money. How would you feel knowing that you indirectly sponsor foreigners to the local universities but your child cannot get into them (through no fault of his). And when these foreigners default, the taxpayers are saddled with the bad debt:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/auditor-general-flags-lack-of-oversight-in-moe-on-enforcing-study-loans-scholarship-bonds -
lee_yl:
It's true that admissions into some overseas universities is easier than local ones - but I don't expect the Singapore taxpayer to provide enough university places for all who want it. There are also options to get degrees locally at privately-set rates. Each family has to decide whether it's \"worth it\" based on affordability and prospect of jobs. Just graduating doesn't guarantee a \"graduate\" job, as situations in other countries have shown.In all fairness, many Singapore children get accepted into overseas uni but somehow are not deemed good enough for local Unis. That is because they have been restricted by an arbitrary number 30%-40% set by our govt due to some strategic considerations. And this group of students on papamama scholarships can also do well enough to graduate, not that they can't study.
Let's not forget that many of these foreigners come to study on scholarship, that is, with taxpayers' money. How would you feel knowing that you indirectly sponsor foreigners to the local universities but your child cannot get into them (through no fault of his). And when these foreigners default, the taxpayers are saddled with the bad debt:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/auditor-general-flags-lack-of-oversight-in-moe-on-enforcing-study-loans-scholarship-bonds
I don't like the way that so many foreign students get generous scholarships from the Singapore govt to study here, but that's a separate issue. Even without that, there will still be foreigners who want to study in Singapore, and if they make the grade, I think they should be made welcome (as long as sufficient places are reserved for Singaporeans, based on the govt's announced targets). -
I found this post on the Junior College mergers very informative and gives a balanced perspective on how it affects all stakeholders.
http://accdenteach.blogspot.sg/2017/05/jc-merger-how-will-it-affect-me.html -
lee_yl:
A piece written by Roy Ngerng (Ya, that return-my-CPF guy
Let's not forget that many of these foreigners come to study on scholarship, that is, with taxpayers' money. How would you feel knowing that you indirectly sponsor foreigners to the local universities but your child cannot get into them (through no fault of his). And when these foreigners default, the taxpayers are saddled with the bad debt:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/auditor-general-flags-lack-of-oversight-in-moe-on-enforcing-study-loans-scholarship-bonds ) in 2014. Not sure how true the allegations were though:
https://thehearttruths.com/2014/01/22/singapore-government-spends-400-million-to-invite-international-students-to-study-in-singapore/[quote]Government Gives International Tuition Grants Of $210 Million, Gives Scholarships Of $185 Million?
So, we were told that international students had received tuition grants of $210 million every year. But what if we were to include the scholarships?
Based on a rough estimation, for the 5% who did not receive tuition grants but who could have received scholarships, about $120 million should have been spent on them. Of those who had received tuition grants and who would also have received scholarships, about $65 million should have been spent on them.
In total, there could have been $400 million spent by the government to bring in international students to study in Singapore.[/quote] -
phtthp:
As an accountant, I can safely say that the demand for accountancy is still high.The kids growing up, face a future challenge, in jobs search.
21 jobs, are already being replaced by robots, through automation :-
including accountants, surgeons, factory production line workers, sales & marketing staff, etc.
We are living in a VUCA world :-
Highly volatile, filled with uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity.
Secondary schools are thinking hard : how best to prepare our students, for future jobs ?
There's no answer ...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/21-jobs-where-robots-are-already-replacing-humans/ss-BBv6yiU#image=4 -
This \"Don't Need Degree\" propaganda is starting to sound like the \"Stop At Two\".
I like Mr Yeoh's reply on ministers overestimating their ability to forecast...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/what-matters-ability-not-university-degree-ong-ke-yung
\"SINGAPORE — Urging the public not to be “overly fixated” with the university cohort participation rate, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung stressed on Monday (May
that skills would be sought after by employers in the new economy, and not paper qualifications.
“Skills are what carry a premium now, and skills need to be honed throughout our lifetimes ... All of us need to keep learning and deepening our skills throughout our lives,” he said.
Mr Ong’s comments on Monday came after his remarks at the 47th St Gallen Symposium last week sparked a spirited public debate among some, including former GIC chief economist Yeoh Lam Keong.
During the event held in Switzerland, Mr Ong spoke about the need for Singapore’s education system to be aligned with the structure of the economy, and this means that the proportion of graduates in a cohort has to be capped at about 30 per cent to 40 per cent. In a Facebook post, Mr Yeoh said Mr Ong had trotted out the “same old unimaginative line”, and argued that “the history of education policy is full of examples of existing policy makers underestimating the skill and education needs of the modern economy and overestimating their ability to forecast them”...\" -
MotherHen:
Having foreign students in the local universities is fine but when the general perception is that these foreign students are displacing the locals and depriving them of a chance to study at the local universities then something is very wrong.
Sounds brutal. But true, and I agree with you. This is what I tell my DDs too, that they have to work HARD for what they want. If, in the end, that's not enough, it is alright as they know they have tried their best, and we see how we can move on from there.
As for foreigners in our local universities, I am actually of the belief that there should be foreign students in every university. Universities are different from say primary schools. Foreign students, visiting professors, etc -- all these add to the diversity and richness of the uni education, and contributes to the competitiveness and global standing of the universities themselves. Even though \"reserving\" all the places for local students would mean easier entry for our kids, I am not sure that in the long run that is actually good for our children, our universities or our country.
You mean our children NOT working hard enough? Singaporean students are already so hardworking and our students' consistently top PISA ranking is testimony to the quality of our students.
When human resource is the only resource we have, why self-restrict ourselves by not fully developing the potential of our students?
If good jobs are lacking, may be the graduates will be motivated to be entrepreneurs
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