So what’s new? Which minister has given you the full picture?
Heng speaks about the need to maintain competitiveness. We all agree on that. What happens next is that like any other minister, he will rattle stories to support his claim. Problem with such rattling is that what he hides tells us more than what he says.
He justifies the heavy govt education sponsorship for foreign students by comparing our early civil servants who were subsidized by other countries. But he does little to mention that when our early civil servants were sponsored by foreign govts, they did not deprive the locals of uni places – unlike what foreign students in Sg are now doing to locals here.
Swee Keat’s mary-mary-quite-contrary-outlook -
‘Degrees have value if standards are high’
ACKNOWLEDGING concerns about a flood of graduates with Singapore set to have six universities, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday that it was important to have a critical mass of skills here.
And he stressed that the value of the degrees would remain intact as long as standards are kept high.
Addressing concerns about whether degrees might be devalued, he said: “It can possibly do so if we are indiscriminate, if our standards are not maintained.”
Well, if we have to maintain standards, why are we accepting foreign undergrads who can’t write proper English, such that they need to have writing skills modules, funded by taxpayers? Why do we see students in top schools including JCs, who need extra English tuition classes, again at taxpayers’ expense?
Isn’t Heng contradicting himself? He says the sky is bright outside because it is now night?
Heng does not give full picture why companies relocate to developing countries -
He cited the example of Apple, which will build its new iPad in China and not the United States, because it is able to find 8,700 engineers in a much shorter time there.
There are many possible reasons why Apple or any American/Euro company prefer developing countries. Firstly, because labour is cheaper. Secondly and more importantly, the laxer environment when it comes to implementing laws pertaining to labour, human rights and green issues.
In America or Europe, the awareness for labour rights, human rights and green issues is very high. Do one thing wrong and the company has to face a mountain of lawsuits. In the developing world, such “nuisance” is far less. That’s because of the lack of awareness on such issues, sometimes even the “don’t care attitude” among the workers. Not to mention the local govt’s pussyfooting on the implementation of labour and green-friendly laws.
The above being the case, of course it makes much economic sense for western companies to relocate their businesses to developing nations because the risk of loss due to suits, govt intervention, fines, expensive and time consuming inquiries related to malpractices intended or unintended etc, is very much less.
Heng Swee Keat did not give the full picture. If he did, it would mean that he has implicitly meant that Sg govt would like to take that route too, in order for US/Euro companies to be relocated here.
Heng compares apples with oranges -
Last night, Mr Heng was also asked why the Government spends $36 million a year funding the education of foreign students.
Replying, he said that Singapore’s first generation of civil servants and leaders received Colombo Plan scholarships to study in universities in Canada and Australia and maintained strong ties with those countries.
His Education Ministry spends just a fraction of its $11.6 billion budget to help these foreign students succeed, he noted, and urged Singaporeans not to have a “zero sum mentality”.
“Being part of this global world, we also have responsibility to other people… And when our neighbours prosper it is also good for us,” he said.
The above is the part I mentioned earlier that our undergrads have to work hard because the foreign undergrads have it easy. The govt can’t afford to give everyone goodies, can they? So they give it sparingly. Only to the foreigners. Because they know while foreigners can bargain, locals are stuck here and can’t bargain or move.
OK. That swipe above aside, Swee Keat is comparing apples with oranges. Our first generation of civil servants never displaced any of the locals when they were overseas. There was enough places for all who qualified. Be it a foreigner or a local.
In Singapore’s situation today, there is just not enough vacancies. For every foreign student the govt allows in, one local who would have qualified has to be out. To add insult to injury, the local who is outed, like all other locals, had to go through a rigourous pressure cooker school system for 12 years. That includes being good in at least two languages, good in CCA, good in contrasting subjects (hard science and soft arts), logged in hours of project work, community work, blah, blah, blah.
Compare the above herculean task above to what the foreign student has to go through – English classes to help them write in English, at tax payers’ expense. Helloo? If you can’t even write proper English, why are you in an English stream uni in the first place?
Now how can Heng compare the two different situations (our early group of civil servants with today’s foreign students in Sg) as discussed above? Isn’t he comparing apples with oranges? While our first group of civil servants never deprived anyone of a uni vacancy, the foreign students in Sg today certainly do.
Conclusion -
Heng does a roundabout when he was asked questions. He tells you half the story to try and convince you. But as in any roundabout style given by politicians, what is hidden reveals more than what is said.
Barrie
*The writer blogs at http://wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.com.