Scholarships should be based on merit, not nationality: Baey

[caroline3sg]

atutor2001:

caroline3sg:

I remember reading somewhere that S'pore govt wants to raise the standard of NUS/NTU internationally (there is list of ranking Ivy League, Oxford, Cambridge etc etc) hence grant scholarships based on merit. Just like in the sports arena - Li Jia Wei, Tao Li, bringing medals for S'pore so that the world knows S'pore can be well known in sports too.

Yes, that is their intention but it is not working. The super smart ones will be offered full scholarship by those top uni and they will disappear after JC. Left behind in NUS and NTU are the study until die types - cannot achieve much.

Now the ranking is about the richest country. S'pore 3rd. :roll:

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20120223-329681.html

[dragonflysg]

atutor2001:

I would not object if the foreign scholar comes from poor family who cannot afford to pay for entry to their top school or university. However, it is not the case most of the times. Many of these scholars are very rich and S'pore is only a stepping stone for them to settle in US and Europe.


Why waste the resources doing training for the developed countries. Perhaps MOE should seriously include \"financial background\" as a consideration for awarding scholarship. It is silly to think that the rich will move over if their kids studied here. So far my personal kaypohing proved that the very smart ones disappeared to US or UK after JC. Left in NUS/NTU are the not so smart ones, waiting for their chance to run. So their presence will also not help much in improving the standard of our local uni.

I disagree mainly with your first statement. I do not agree that we should pay for someone else's kid who is poor and cannot get into THEIR own top Uni to come to ours. Our Unis are not a dumping ground for unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners, with scholarships paid by us some more.

[Strparent]

http://i42.tinypic.com/wlyhkx.jpg\">


happy ? :roll:

[LOLMum]

dragonflysg:

atutor2001:

I would not object if the foreign scholar comes from poor family who cannot afford to pay for entry to their top school or university. However, it is not the case most of the times. Many of these scholars are very rich and S'pore is only a stepping stone for them to settle in US and Europe.


Why waste the resources doing training for the developed countries. Perhaps MOE should seriously include \"financial background\" as a consideration for awarding scholarship. It is silly to think that the rich will move over if their kids studied here. So far my personal kaypohing proved that the very smart ones disappeared to US or UK after JC. Left in NUS/NTU are the not so smart ones, waiting for their chance to run. So their presence will also not help much in improving the standard of our local uni.

I disagree mainly with your first statement. I do not agree that we should pay for someone else's kid who is poor and cannot get into THEIR own top Uni to come to ours. Our Unis are not a dumping ground for unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners, with scholarships paid by us some more.

lumping them as unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners is definitely not right.

it was exposed in the papers (china) that many of these bright poor students were ignored by many uni because they do not have the right connections.

i am all for giving out scholarships to them to study here. there should however be a cap and a fairer distribution to not just give most scholarships to 1 country and preferably to those of poor families (farmers, workers and not doctors, lawyers etc).

[dragonflysg]

LOLMum:

dragonflysg:

[quote=\"atutor2001\"]I would not object if the foreign scholar comes from poor family who cannot afford to pay for entry to their top school or university. However, it is not the case most of the times. Many of these scholars are very rich and S'pore is only a stepping stone for them to settle in US and Europe.


Why waste the resources doing training for the developed countries. Perhaps MOE should seriously include \"financial background\" as a consideration for awarding scholarship. It is silly to think that the rich will move over if their kids studied here. So far my personal kaypohing proved that the very smart ones disappeared to US or UK after JC. Left in NUS/NTU are the not so smart ones, waiting for their chance to run. So their presence will also not help much in improving the standard of our local uni.

I disagree mainly with your first statement. I do not agree that we should pay for someone else's kid who is poor and cannot get into THEIR own top Uni to come to ours. Our Unis are not a dumping ground for unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners, with scholarships paid by us some more.

lumping them as unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners is definitely not right.

it was exposed in the papers (china) that many of these bright poor students were ignored by many uni because they do not have the right connections.

i am all for giving out scholarships to them to study here. there should however be a cap and a fairer distribution to not just give most scholarships to 1 country and preferably to those of poor families (farmers, workers and not doctors, lawyers etc).[/quote]Then I question how many. Is it our gov role to help other countries' poor or our own first? What was the number of full scholarships for locals vs foreign specifically for poor people in your statement? What is the total and per capita value in comparison?

[laughingcat]

The Singapore Government website named Singapore Education (note the gov.sg). The website’s About page says the following....


\"As the marketing and promotion arm for Singapore Education, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) assumes the responsibility of attracting international students to Singapore. The STB works very closely with Singapore education institutions and education agents to reach out to potential international students through a range of promotional platforms, including roadshows, education fairs, education talks and PR and advertising. STB’s efforts are focused on:

a.building international brand recognition for Singapore as a provider of quality education;
b.providing platforms for our institutions to reach out to their target audiences;
c.building credible marketing and information channels so that potential students have access to reliable information; and
d.ensuring that international students have an enriching learning (and living) experience in Singapore so that they in turn can be valued ambassadors for Singapore.\"

it seems the Singapore Tourism Board for some reason is tasked with enticing foreign students to study in Singapore, partly by offering them scholarships.

What’s particular disturbing was this particular page where a list of scholarships are offered to foreign students. The Nationality of Applicants states which ones are. But some of them are ambiguous, so I went to Google them to find out explicitly which scholarships are open to whom. Of the 28 scholarships displayed, it appeared that only 15 of them are open to Singapore citizens as well.

Note that all 28 scholarships are open to non-Singaporeans. http://i40.tinypic.com/1m5h5.jpg\">

On top of that...., there’s an additional scholarship program offered by something known as the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). It is open only to citizens of ASEAN excluding Singapore:

\"Citizens of ASEAN member countries (except Singapore) are eligible to apply for the Singapore Scholarship.

Candidates must have an outstanding academic record, a good command of English and meet the entry requirements for NTU, NUS and SMU.\"

The best part about the SCP scholarship? There’s no bond or loan attached. Foreign graduates may return to their home countries upon graduation:

\"Q: What does the Singapore Scholarship cover?

A: The Singapore Scholarship covers full tuition fees, living allowance of S$4,300 per annum and accommodation fee based on the room rates at each university during the school semester. One economy class air ticket from scholar’s home country to Singapore at the commencement of their undergraduate course and one economy class air ticket from Singapore to their home country upon successful completion of their undergraduate course. No further financial assistance will be provided for other travel expenses as well as any additional expenses/fees incurred during the Overseas’ Exchange Programme, Overseas’ Attachments or Summer Courses taken up by the scholars with their respective universities.

Q: What is the difference between this Award and other Scholarships Scheme?

A: Under the Singapore Scholarship, the Singapore Government will not impose any bond on the scholars. However, all scholars are expected to return home at the end of their studies in Singapore to contribute to the development of their country. This is different from other undergraduate scholarship schemes, where the graduating students would be obliged to work in Singapore for certain period of time to repay the tuition grant from the Singapore Government. In the case of the Singapore Scholarship, the Singapore Cooperation Programme is sponsoring by paying the full tuition fees for these ASEAN scholars who therefore do not need to apply for the tuition grant with the universities.\"

Why are Singaporeans shut out and excluded from such scholarships? Why is the Singapore Government actively promoting Singapore as an education hub to the extent of excluding Singaporean citizens from just under half of all those scholarships listed above? Why do they allow such discrimination against Singaporeans?

[laughingcat]

In some developed countries, scholarship offering to the locals are far more for the foreigners. On top of that scholarship offering to foreigner are very stringent. So why is SGP so special? Is it purely for the benefit of gaining more $ as an education hub that government forgets entirely on Singaporean?

[LOLMum]

dragonflysg:

LOLMum:

[quote=\"dragonflysg]


I disagree mainly with your first statement. I do not agree that we should pay for someone else's kid who is poor and cannot get into THEIR own top Uni to come to ours. Our Unis are not a dumping ground for unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners, with scholarships paid by us some more.

lumping them as unwanted or unsuccessful second rate foreigners is definitely not right.

it was exposed in the papers (china) that many of these bright poor students were ignored by many uni because they do not have the right connections.

i am all for giving out scholarships to them to study here. there should however be a cap and a fairer distribution to not just give most scholarships to 1 country and preferably to those of poor families (farmers, workers and not doctors, lawyers etc).

Then I question how many. Is it our gov role to help other countries' poor or our own first? What was the number of full scholarships for locals vs foreign specifically for poor people in your statement? What is the total and per capita value in comparison?[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]


you want figures, nos etc , please write to the relevant boards for the them.

What was the number of full scholarships for locals vs foreign specifically for poor people in your statement? my statement? where? pls highlight to me.

if you are referring to this there should however be a cap and a fairer distribution to not just give most scholarships to 1 country and preferably to those of poor families. , well, i am actually referring to not just allocate most of the scholarships to china but a more balanced allocation to all foreign countries like vietnam, thailand etc.


my post is to state i dont agree with you lumping them as \"unwanted or unsuccessful second rate\". i am sure many of our bright citizens also received overseas scholarships to study in overseas uni - so are these bright singaporeans \"unwanted or unsuccessful second rate\" too?

so to your question \"Is it our gov role to help other countries' poor or our own first?\", well, do our citizens not have a single place in our local unis? if our citizens do not have a single place in our local unis, then yes, i agree with you that our govt needs to put our own first.

and also i am in favour of giving out scholarships to foriegners. as the cap - please, i can give any figures but it is the relevant authorities who after much research and discussions can come up with the best figure in order not to tip the scale, not you, not i (unless you are on the board).


anyway, whatsoever be it.

[dragonflysg]

LOLMum:

so to your question \"Is it our gov role to help other countries' poor or our own first?\", well, do our citizens not have a single place in our local unis? if our citizens do not have a single place in our local unis, then yes, i agree with you that our govt needs to put our own first.

List me a country whose Gov says that they do not need to put their own first.

My disagreement is not with giving scholarships to foreigners. I do not agree that scholarships be given to poor foreigners INSTEAD of poor Singaporeans. Apples to apples. And I am pro-Singapore.

[concern2]

laughing cat:

\"As the marketing and promotion arm for Singapore Education, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) assumes the responsibility of attracting international students to Singapore...\"

:rotflmao: Sorry, I can't explain why this is just so ticklish.