There is recent hulla-ballo about the NUS fee hike. What with students wearing black in silent protest, the NUS Provost writing in to the local paper saying that student's opinon's matter - but never addressing any of their comments at all...
First, let me qualify that I was never a student at the new Americanised-NUS. However, my mom has been working there for almost 30 years... actually, she is such an icon, that most people would have seen her if I described her. Haha. In fact, I have been hanging around NUS for as long as I can remember...
Anyway...
With regards to the fees... If this happened in my college, then there wouldn't just have been a silent protest. Whatever happened to student activitism? Print posters! Organise a rally! Write a stern letter, supported by a petition! Come on NUS students! Where is your ownership? Do something that drives home a point!
About 2 years ago, I was involved in the rally to protest for better rights for international students in my college. So, yes, I put my money where my mouth is.
Anyway...
With regards to the fee hikes. NUS claims that it is for building of better facilities, raising educational standards, yada yada.
Well, here's a suggestion for you NUS.
Why don't you just raise the fees for international students? Come on, we who have studied overseas understand and accept the fact that as international students, we do not get the same subsidies for education as the citizens of the country. I mean, I was paying 7 times what the locals were paying... and NUS doesn't even need to have such a large discrepancy to hit its target revenue! So why can't NUS do the same? Why do an across the board hike - affecting your citizens as well?
You know the answer?
Cos the Singapore Govt invites a whole lot of international "scholars" to study in NUS, and subsequently shackle them to a 3-6 year service contract. So if NUS raises the fee for international students, the Govt gets hit directly. So, no go.
Meritocracy and even playing field my ass.
Tsk... oh well, like good Singaporeans... what to do? Suck it up. Too bad.
First, let me qualify that I was never a student at the new Americanised-NUS. However, my mom has been working there for almost 30 years... actually, she is such an icon, that most people would have seen her if I described her. Haha. In fact, I have been hanging around NUS for as long as I can remember...
Anyway...
With regards to the fees... If this happened in my college, then there wouldn't just have been a silent protest. Whatever happened to student activitism? Print posters! Organise a rally! Write a stern letter, supported by a petition! Come on NUS students! Where is your ownership? Do something that drives home a point!
About 2 years ago, I was involved in the rally to protest for better rights for international students in my college. So, yes, I put my money where my mouth is.
Anyway...
With regards to the fee hikes. NUS claims that it is for building of better facilities, raising educational standards, yada yada.
Well, here's a suggestion for you NUS.
Why don't you just raise the fees for international students? Come on, we who have studied overseas understand and accept the fact that as international students, we do not get the same subsidies for education as the citizens of the country. I mean, I was paying 7 times what the locals were paying... and NUS doesn't even need to have such a large discrepancy to hit its target revenue! So why can't NUS do the same? Why do an across the board hike - affecting your citizens as well?
You know the answer?
Cos the Singapore Govt invites a whole lot of international "scholars" to study in NUS, and subsequently shackle them to a 3-6 year service contract. So if NUS raises the fee for international students, the Govt gets hit directly. So, no go.
Meritocracy and even playing field my ass.
Tsk... oh well, like good Singaporeans... what to do? Suck it up. Too bad.
1 comment:
i do agree that there should be a higher increase in fees for new international students. but i also feel that university fees should always be subjected to constant review so that the university can have enough funds to be at the cutting edge.
one of the reasons why the UK university is losing prestige to the US university is precisely that the UK uni's lack funds. the US universities have the autonomy to raise their own funds, much comes from exorbitant fees (a la Stanford, Harvard) and much comes from alumni.
a state funded anything won't be cutting edge. that's the sad fact of life.
however, having said that, every deserving student should be able to have access to uni education, regardless of whether he/she is able to pay for it. so if there are deserving students who are unable to pay the uni tuition fees, there should be suitable assistance in place. that, i think, is the crux of the matter.
well... if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys...
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