stupid NS already waste 2 yrs of my youth… degree another 4yrs…

Opening up a fourth uni brings more competition for everyone else.3 in 10 gets a local uni.Now more ppl thinks gg local uni is easy…more people are goin to get disapointed if they didnt make it if it is becoming easier..Next time everyone is aiming for a masters in future.

you only think of those who cannot make it. Then those who make it lei?
happy? no? study so hard for what? anyhow study aso can go uni ma…

Ask any poly/jc person.. what u gg to do after ord.. 99% says go uni.. either local/overseas/SIM/ get job first then go SIM.. everyone wants degree… cannot get it…. find excuses…. blame foreigners… blame govt…blame those who already got a place in local U are selfish for their comments..blame life….
why dont you blame urself for not studying harder?

MIT website stated clearly that “International citizens” comprises only 8% of the undergraduate student profile!!

Oh i see…he’s v intelligent…an elite! ”

Wow. you seemed to have a problem with me!

I’m merely enjoying the debate!

Secondly, the claim is that foreign students add diversity into university life. I think many people have talked about the wonderful experience they have in oversea universities – the different things they see and experienced. Which is probably why you have so many students who wish to go for student exchange programme in the universities. What the policies are trying to do is bringing in these diversities that people seem so interested in. What’s wrong with that?

Thirdly, this is regarding the value of the degree. If you solely seeks university education just for knowledge, then probably this doesn’t apply. But I would tend to think people still do have that realistic element in them – degree gives us a better salary. There is a certain infrastructure in place. This refers to things like campus size which is probably easier to fix, or it can be the teaching staff (harder to get, but might still be possible) and more importantly what the job market can handle. If the market only requires 10,000 engineers, would you want to produce 20,000 engineers? Now… creating jobs is not that easy. So suppose that the universities are already at its largest capacity already (in terms of matching the job market), this argues against increasing the undergraduate intake at the rate which we like it to be.

Oh i see…he’s v intelligent…an elite!

2) in payback I meant monetary terms. With the same residential basis they pay the same taxes.

3) I don’t remember saying not using the resources, but my meaning is that their contribution is more than the resources that they will take up.

4) taking away the jobs of elderly citizens. that I do not understand. Low paying jobs, many singaporeans are not interested, high paying jobs, will secure young talents be it local or foreigners. The elderly who are well equipped do get their jobs. However, it is part and parcel of life that the younger generation will push forward and challenge the previous generations. younger, lower paid, higher drive, I don’t think its just the foreigners. Not too sure which spectrum of the job market you’re referring to, maybe you can enlighten me.

5) I have a friend who got a scholarship not because of his grades, but in no small part because of a recommendation letter written by his army CO. as for buying land, what i meant is singaporeans can buy if they have money. foreigners are not entitled to get land even if they have money. singapore students do get free subsidies from primary school all the way to universities. new hdb flats are only open to us locals. I could perhaps list a few more but due to my limited knowledge these are just a few.

6) as the case is, many foreign companies invest in singapore exactly because of the graduates that we produce. and i’m not too sure what is meant by SMU and the new singaporeans. but as you’ve put it, the 20% cap doesn’t change, it will not upset much of the locals.

7) and yes, working in Maersk, I totally agree that PSA is not feasible long term. when I used entreport trade I meant we would probably not survive. Maersk has been shifting so much of its operations to Malaysia’s Tanjung Pelapas port even though it is not fully up shows that even the strategic location can be compromised. However, this is where I applaud PSA. PSA has already extended their port operations to so many countries, that its combined overseas operations are on par with Singapore’s. For one thing, Singapore’s strategic location is no longer that strategic. Maersk has been pumping resources into Malaysia’s TPP that it might catch up in the next 5 years or so. However, PSA’s experience with port operations might be the one to fall back on.

forefathers came amid chaos and the atmosphere is different. True it is different but not that different. Some of my overseas friends came here also because their country is filled with problems. I shall not name countries but its alot of SEA countries. Friends from PRC, their country might not be chaotic but they came for the same reason as the past, in search of a better life, for themselves and for their future generations. They might not feel so strongly for Singapore now, but give it one generation, perhaps two, and they will integrate into full singaporeans. Agreed, that if war is to break out now, our population might decrease to less than 3 million. However like you said, focus on our own babies issues. I think we are. For years Singapore has been trying to promote more babies. Recently I even saw an ad that encourages couples to get married and start up new families. Its funny and sad that our culture has become such that even setting up family has to be encouraged. Its sad, but at least it is being addressed. Are we ready now to fall back fully on our local talents if the time calls for it? Japan took many years to get strong, from I think was it the Meiji something in the 1860s all the way till now. Now in times of peace, if we are to see them as an example, should we not try to integrate these foreigners? That we as locals welcome them with open arms, so that in future, maybe not them but their grandsons will take up arms with our grandchildren?

8.5) I can’t help comparing work and education, because they are co-related. true that education don’t make a director. therefore I am pointing towards polys and ITEs. I do have friends opting for Polys instead of JCs then unis because they’re motivation for knowledge lies in these places. as for why I compared work to education, how many people really crave for knowledge so much that its not about their future career? I’m an engineer by degree, yet I’m in shipping doing co-ordination. So many engineers come out and go into all sorts of jobs, event planners, financial consultants, sales. throw a stone and chances are you’ll hit someone with a degree. Exactly because of this mentality that many people are trying to get into uni. But are they really craving for that knowledge? That desire to learn, or simply because it has become a requisite.

like you pointed out to aaron that overseas education creates chances for singaporeans to migrate, the same can be said of the foreigners who come here to study.

10) comapring apple to apple and oranges to oranges. So should we look at Dubai? Where it has been transformed in a time shorter than Singapore, but where many slums still exist there? Where the rich-poor gap is ever increasing rapidly?

they are also much larger nations with higher literacy rates higher than singapore, 2005′s report even shows Mongolia and China with higher literacy rates.

10.5) however my point of argument is not singapore now as a developed country, but rather the process to reach its current level. True that is is a small nation and hence easier to govern, however it is a small nation with limited to almost no history, no natural resources and no bargaining power at all. to bring literacy rates to the level we are now, I think it is still an achievement, which of course can be further improved and should be further improved.

11) I cannot stop singaporeans who wants to leave, people always feel that the grass is greener on the other side. I fully agree that as singaporeans, we should help each other, but as fellow singaporeans, perhaps we should also think broader and longer term that one day, in future, some of these foreigners, might just take up arms and stand hand in hand with us in times of need. just as there will be those of us who will want to leave this country.

perhaps, if we think of helping each other and singapore long term wise, think not of giving up hope on singapore. think more of how to help singapore improve, and work towards it, for us and for the country.

btw, if unis do not improve on image, do not go for a world class image, we won’t get world class people to teach the younger generation. Then again, some of these ‘world class’ professors might be here more because of having money to continue their research instead of the young ones.

in either case, i’m probably going to be late for work tomorrow again. damn.