5/13/2013

Yale NUS tie up in pursuit of academic excellence



The setting up of this Yale NUS College must have cost quite a bomb financially. The object must be academic excellence, if not the product ie graduates, must be a college of bright professors living here to show the world we have the brightest talents money can buy. Its existence should take NUS or Singapore tertiary education up a notch, not the kind splashed across the media in rankings here and there. It must be real substance, either in producing great thinking graduates or great academics sharing their great thoughts on this little island, the merits of the latter is like pasting someone’s backside on our face. The former should be more desirable and the latter would be more like having more foreign table tennis players to show the world that we are also great in table tennis, great as long as money can buy greatness.

Yale has a great history and tradition in liberal arts and humanities, must be or we would not be inviting them here. This must have been brought about by the academic freedom, freedom of speech and thoughts in America, that make Yale a great university. And this can become a problem as academic freedom, freedom of the mind and thinking process are crucial ingredients to producing great thinking minds and great thoughts. And there has been a big tussle on this with some in Yale calling for a curtailment of this association. Singapore is just not the place for academic freedom in liberal arts and the teaching of humanities. They must have their points and beliefs to put up such a strong resistance.

While the college is ready to take in students in August, the debate is still going on and the intensity is not letting up. Now they have recommended a panel of Yale and NUS academics and administrators ‘to advise the new liberal arts college on issues that may arise, including academic freedom and discrimination’. This must be another first to have such a panel to advise and police a liberal arts college on academic freedom. And this is no joke. Hopefully the presence of this eminent panel of freedom guardians would not add to the cost of this expensive set up and raise tuition fees or increase govt grants to the college. And there is no further need to set up another committee of foreign dignitaries and academics to oversee this panel.

I wonder if it would be cheaper to send out students to Yale directly, with govt subsidies than to set up the college here? I also wonder if the environment here will be conducive or equivalent to that in Yale for the teaching of liberal arts or would it be money spent all for nothing but a fish? What is this Yale NUS model meant to be or to achieve? Is this the pathfinder for a more liberal Singapore or a more liberal academic environment for the fermenting and formenting of contrarian views and thoughts that may not be embraced by the authority? Is Singapore attempting to take the slow boat to freedom of expression, academic freedom and the American way?

How much is all this going to cost or already spent? Why are NUS and the other local universities not good enough? Would Yale NUS make a difference?

11 comments:

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

>> Is Singapore attempting to take the slow boat to freedom of expression, academic freedom and the American way?


It certainly looks that way.I would say it is "guided" with the govt taking a "light touch", but not hesitating to intervene when they deem necessary -- which means you probably can criticise the govt, until you reach a point where they'll shoot you down.

Things won't change much.

Culture changes slowly. Hopefully with the steady immigration (thanks to OPEN BORDERS), and the change of population mix -- inter-marrying, mixing of people in social institutions and day-to-day interactions -- a "new" local culture will emerge.

In time those "asshole and cunty traits" of present Singapore culture, and exhibited by too many Singaporeans in their behaviour e.g. kiasuism, kiasism, rudeness, learned helplessness, entitlement mentality, lack of creativity, arrogance, low self-esteem, emotionally reactive, sour grapes etc will (hopefully) disappear and you'll find -- beginning with a new generation of kids who are confident, self-assured, good communicators, independent thinkers, entrepreneurial, risk takers, can-doers, and driven by reason and purpose instead of emotion.

Then again, it could all go to shit and crumble...and then that'll be the end of Singapore ;-)

In other words, the present-day local asshole culture will win, and everyone in the cuntree will lose.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yale-NUS tie up.

Where is the money going to come from?
Rich Singaporeans too poor to send their children directly to Yale meh?
OR
Rich Singaporean kids too stupid to get admitted into Yale?

If you are not well-connected, do you think your kid with a Yale-NUS liberal arts degree can get a job in Singapore?

Anonymous said...

What is the cost and what is the return?

Anonymous said...

The cost is a 'higher CPF Minimum sum".

The return is higher university fees for students in other faculties?

Anonymous said...

WP and Lina Cheam and NMP, please ask in Parliament.

Anonymous said...

Singaporeans ... please vote wisely in GE 2016.

Anonymous said...

It is all for the monies. Throwing in the name 'yale' and can exploit silly students another few thousands. Either exploit or be exploited. THis is the new education era.

Anonymous said...

Yale-NUS.
Liberal arts education with PAP characteristics.

A "Singaporean" degree by any other name.

Anonymous said...

Or is it someone's world cup pet dream?

Anonymous said...

In marketing, this is know as 'branding' and they can charge a premium price for it.