For Want of a Better Title

The Saga continued

February 8, 2007 at 4:49 am | In But Seriously | 11 Comments

A commenter Mr White, left a post regarding the incident.

His comment to mine was:

1. Alan White Says:
   February 8th, 2007 at 2:24 am eWhat’s the percentage of foreign students in NUS and NTU? You tell me. Now compare that with the number of foreign students in Australia, UK or US.Sometimes, truth is hard to swallow. Instead of writing in anger trying to rebut me, take a seat back and ask why does a former scholar wrote that kind of thing in his blog? Why is the bitterness? Is there a bigger problem within the system, and nobody dare to speak up due to Singapore being too harsh on criticism.

   Maybe it’s a time to reflect whether the education policy needs some changes. Or perhaps MOE needs to improve the way expectation is handled with potential scholars. Has MOE made it clear to scholars about the Singapore local universities entry requirement, fees payable after the grant and the 3 year bond applicable? Has MOE spoken and tried closing the loop with the scholars’ parents? Has MOE made clear to scholars on the A-level and its transferability for other universities entry outside Singapore.

   Singapore government is trying to pull talent in the country by offering scholarship. By accepting the scholarship, the kind of adjustment the scholars has to make is very big. It’s the responsible of MOE to convey the right expectation of the scholarship, its consequences (pros and cons) and what future holds for scholars in Singapore. If the expectation is not conveyed and handled properly by MOE, I can foresee the kind of bitterness that Mark experienced.

   So, you see,… it’s not as simple as “the government doesn’t owe Mark anything for the scholarship”. It’s a both way thing. Both sides are equally guilty.

   I think it’s high time for MOE to review its education policy, especially with regards to foreign students.

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I thought it would be enlightening to note some stats and that what Mark Eleven said is not true. Here is my reply (I edited it, original posted as comments but i thought it would be better here):

In Singapore the number of foreign students is at 66000, or 10% of the student body, in 2005. Check Brenda Yoeh’s article.  I tried for over an hour trying to just find university numbers but to no avail.

In the US, the number of foreign students unfortunately are only available at the University level, and they number 3.9%. (2005/2006)

In the UK the number at higher Education is 9.5% for non-EU students. It’s 12.8% with EU students thrown in. (2004/2005)

Mr White, I have compared it to the best of my abilities. What is your assertion then? I think they are comparable.

Yes those specifications are quite clear. You can check out the MOE Tuition Grant .
The Universities run their own ASEAN scholarhips it seems. And the bond come from the MOE Tuition Grant which NUS and NTU states clearly on their ASEAN scholarship pages. SMU does not run an ASEAN scholarship.
The MOE is actually not incharge of University applications. That is for the Individual universities to decide. As such if you went through the local education system, on the day you recieve your A level results there are packages you can pick up for the various Universities. Otherwise you go online, like any other university. Fees payable are similarly addressed at the individual universities, but there is a website that helps with the FAQ and the Applications.

So Mr White. What do you think now? I think that the information given is quite clear. On both websites they state that there is a 3 year bond due to the Tuition Grant. Also admissions is done by schools individually but their websites are as user-friendly as most US admissions websites. As for closing the loop with parents, I suppose there could be an effort on that part. I don’t know how, but I am sure the Universities’ financial aid officers could make it clear to the parents.

Seriously the Singapore government does not owe Mark anything. That is how I feel. I also do not think they are both equally guilty. There is a very well done ASEAN scholarship site for the ASEAN scholarship run by the MOE up to the Pre-U level.

In fact there is no bond attached to the ASEAN scholarship. Only the Uni ones carry a bond due to the Tuition Grant. It is a rather generous package really. With hostel accom, annual allowance of S$2400, and free transport when you first come and when you complete. You even get S$500 settling in fee. With no bond.

Mark Eleven took advantage of that, and then he didn’t do well enough to earn some other scholarship to go to NUS, and opted for the ASEAN scholarship. Was unhappy that he only got tuition off and S$4,300 a year. So applied to get money from the Kwok Foundation. Yes there is a 3 -year bond unfortunately, but he needn’t take the tuition grant and pay the full price of I don’t know how much (it’s 4am in the morning, too tired to check).

I find Mark to be a whiner, an ingrate and a liar. I think he is far more guilty than the MOE in this. The terms are bloody clear on the websites. As for education policies needing change, I tend to think so. We need a less pressurising, more flexible system. But that is another kettle of fish.

So Mr White, I am not angry at you. I am merely trying to show you that Mark Eleven is misguided if not a liar (although I personally think he is). I have answered your quesitons to the best of my abilities. I have tried to show that our foreign student rate is not too different from other countries. I have also searched extensively to see if communication of terms is a failure on the MOE’s part, and you can draw your own conclusions. I would like to point out that I personally think the MOE is not guilty, and that the guilt falls on Mark’s shoulders. I think the MOE policy towards foreign students is quite clear and fair. The universities have their own policy, and I cannot address them individually. Based on the singaporeedu.gov website, NTU has stats for total and foreign student enrollment, and their numbers are at 27.7% of the total student body. That is a huge number. I doubt SMU and NUS have such a high number, but it is proof that there must be a good enough system at NTU to attract such high numbers.

So Mr White, what do you think? I leave you to draw your own conclusions. I would love to hear what they are.