For Want of a Better Title

Thanks to Tomorrow, I happened upon this really interesting take on our ASEAN scholarship. There’s also a reply to the charge that we are scamming ASEAN scholars.  Seriously I got to say that the fellah is a whiner, and a tad bit ungrateful. For someone who took the scholarship and is now here working, he sounds kinda ungrateful. Mr Biao gives pretty good rebuttals for each of Mark Elven’s points, and I wonder if Mark Eleven would venture a reply to Mr Biao.

Mind you I know very little of the ASEAN scholarship seeing as how I am a Singaporean. The closest I have come is dating one. Yup. That’s as close as I get to it.

So now allow me address his arguments point by point:

1. Is ASEAN Scholarship really a scholarship?

I would think so. When I was in the US, I got the Otte Scholarship twice. They only handed out US$1000 per year for it. It’s more like a bursary I suppose, but it is a scholarship by name. S$2,300 may be a small sum to Mark Eleven, but that’s S$2,300 less for some Singaporean. Mark Eleven mentions the Kwok Foundation’s sum of RM48,000. That’s S$28,800. If that’s the annual rate, that is a princely sum indeed. However, let me take this into account. Your education is FOC as you mentioned. So if we go at local rates for Universities, which is about S$6,000 a year, you’re actually receiving S$8,300. If I’m not wrong your S$28,800 from the Kwok Foundation should be divided over 4 years (I assumed you were an honours student). That puts you at S$7000/year. If you didn’t do your honours, that would put you at S$9,600/year. I mean the S$2,300 for expenses is a little low, but that means you’re not recieving any support from your parents. I suppose studying in Malaysia would be cheaper since you live with your parents, but you’d have to pay for your school fees (if you manage to get in).

2. One Way Ticket

I sort of agree. It can be rather tough if you lose your scholarship halfway. My ex-gf lost her after J1, but her parents were rich enough to continue her education to J2. After that she went on to the UK to get her law degree. Based on your situation, I guess you did not get a scholarship for University. But it means you did your A levels. UK, Australia and Canada are all possible destinations for you. I am sure with a little adjustment Malaysian universities are also open. There’s also HK. You need not force yourself to stay on in the Singaporean education system. I left.

3. Brainwashing by PAP Machineries

Heh. To a certain extent. However national anthems and pledges are not so much brainwashing then trying to establish the concept of nationhood. If I’m not wrong Malaysian schools also sing the Malaysian National Anthem. Also American children recite the pledge, and no it isn’t brainwashing for Dubya, since they’ve been doing it from the 1950s. They also sing the National Anthem before sporting events. That Anthem has been around since 1812. Not quite sure what you’re exactly being brainwashed for. Think you’re living in a really strange cocoon man, you need to see the world more.

4. Meritocracy

I am not a fan of meritocracy because it leads to elitism. I also know our meritocracy is not perfect. Money and power can still get you places. I have seen it firsthand, and have been a beneficiary of it. I don’t know about foreigners and Medicine and Law. I actually know quite a few female doctors and lawyers. Perhaps the ratio is skewed towards the men. i don’t know, I have yet to check the stats out.

5. Higher Standard in Cambridge O-level and A-level?

Amen. I do not think the O or A levels are any better than other forms of it, or the AP or IB systems used. I did appreciate doing the A levels because it’s pretty much the first year of Uni. The sources you cite are actually about the GCSE, not the GCE. Don’t get them mixed up. The GCE is actually limited to Singapore. It is a collaboration between the CIE and Singapore’s MOE. The GCSE is the internal exam for British schools. If you look at the papers, the standards are entirely different.

6. Opportunity Costs

Think you need to check your facts carefully. The annual tuition fee for a top US University is about US$25,000 a year. That’s not including living expenses. That’s S$37,500 a year. I should know I paid it for 4 years. NUS and NTU are actually not bad schools. I mean they’re not fantastic, but they’re quite ok. If they weren’t that good then you wouldn’t have chosen them. I suppose you didn’t do well enough to gain a scholarship overseas, and you probably didn’t meet the quota in Malaysia. The truth is S$20,000 a year sounds about right, our Singaporean students really are heavily subsidised.

7. Immaturity

Ok. This one I don’t know. I mean compared to my 26 year old self, my 17 year old self is definetely a kid. However I remembered in JC we definetely did not sit around and sing songs. Must be some weird shit going down in TJC. You sure you didn’t walk into the campfire or something? We actually played soccer (a lot, hence the bad grades in year 1). I was also in the History society (we worked on the school archives, no singing in a circle there). As for business starting, no I did not get involved in that. My parents really wanted me to study hard. I did get some money for investing, but that’s not the same.

8. Rote Learning

I agree with you. That’s a problem with the Singapore system. Large emphasis on memorisation. Generally I get the same impression. That’s something I am hoping will change with all the new changes in the education system. I can only hope though.

9. The System in Singapore is not Conducive for High Flyers

Erm… Sour grapes? We have many individuals who do things their own way, you just aren’t clued into those circles. As for high-flyer what do you mean? If you mean political elites, then I agree. The establishment is always status quo. If you mean high-flyers in their respective fields, then yes there are a lot of men and women to march to the beat of their own drummer. My old GP tutor, is one of the leading experts in stage lighting in Singapore. He isn’t high-flyer in the sense of being nationally famous, but he’s highly sought after in the Singaporean theatre circle. Think you need to define what you mean by high-flyer.

10. Unhealthy Competition

I agree with you. Sometimes it can get ultra-competitive. However my Secondary School and JC years were relatively happy. In fact I have fond memories. I guess I just never quite got into the whole competition thing, but then again neither did most of my classmates.

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Well Mark Eleven, I really hope that you can answer some questions I have about your analysis. For someone who claims that Singaporeans suck at analysis, yours seem to be faulty too. Furthermore you have yet to establish the link that the ASEAN scholarships are a scam. Points, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 have very little relation to the ASEAN scholarship. They’re more what you think is wrong with Singaporean society. Only 1, 2 and 5 seem pertinent to your point. Establish the link please, it’ll help us better understand what the problem with the ASEAN scholarship is.