I hope to share my story which I think gives some idea of what the large foreign student population and sponsorship of their education means to me, a born and bred Singaporean:
I worked to earn living expenses during my undergraduate days, then after that to pay off my undergraduate study loan, following which I continued work to save up for master’s degree in Singapore our homeland. I also took a loan from my mum for the master’s degree. Thankfully, my mum is that supportive.
Imagine how I felt when I met a PRC-turned-Singaporean in my master’s batch who was sponsored all the way. Also, it doesn’t help that scholarships eligible to most Asians in overseas institutions, especially those I am interested in, predominantly exclude Singaporeans.
I do grow to become more resourceful and careful with time management, but I wish I had more time and resources that allow me to work towards higher academic excellence, do a research thesis and take on additional research projects in school. All the time and effort I spent in accumulating financial backing has led to opportunity costs that could be spent on focusing on my studies and completing advanced studies sooner.
Right now, I do not dare to think about settling down (much less have a baby or buy any assets), with a loan to pay off and additional pressure to seek a job to justify the sunk financial investment. The next headache is to get a position with advancement opportunities, but some of our foreign ‘friends’ prefer working with foreigners, and others are willing to settle for less, even below the market rate. So even if I subscribe to fair competition, the odds weigh so heavily against me, it takes a tremendous amount of grit and patience to get through.
My ‘comforts’ are in knowing my mum is behind me and that I am not alone. Both do not make me happy, knowing that someone else is/are bearing the cost for me, and with me.
Solidarity