10/21/2014

Breaking Laws in Bid for Top World Universities Ranking


Did NTU break Laws to win Top Universities Ranking?

The Great Purge of Singaporean Professors and Lecturers was somehow deemed necessary in order to meet a Key Criteria – “International Staff Ratio” - of bogus World Universities Ranking Standards of Dubious Excellence. The Great Purge took place from 2007-2010.

A little Background History will provide some Context for understanding. NTU Global Ranking had plunged 16 places from 61 in 2006 to 77 in 2008, or 29 places from 48 in 2003, to join the ranks of relative unknown and undistinguished Universities.  A study into the Ranking Criteria easily revealed the actions needed to climb to the “Top” (of what?).  Never mind that these Criteria are bogus and invalid factors having no bearing on teaching or research excellence and learning impact on the students.   

The great Purge was conducted under the pretext of Tenure Evaluation from 2007-2010, during which mostly Singaporean Professors and Lecturers, including many already qualified for Tenure previously, were dismissed.  And when the dusts settled in 2010 after the Purge, NTU proudly announced that Singapore citizens including new citizens formed ONLY 44% of the faculty; 56% of NTU faculty are foreigners from 56 countries worldwide including Singapore PRs. Never mind the fact that most Universities in the World actually have a majority of local Professors.

ALL Singaporeans have the SAME inherent and inalienable rights to Non-Discrimination during employment. The violated rights as enjoyed by Singaporean Professors and Lecturers were found in the following Laws, among others:
  1. The Constitution of Singapore
  2. The Retirement Age Act 2006 [Renamed in 2012]
  3. The NTU (Corporatisation) Act 2006
  4. International Labour Conventions – United Nations
The outcomes of the Tenure 2007-2010 Exercises discriminating and separating tenured academic staff into those retiring at 65 years old and 55 years old respectively was illegal, according to Section 4 and 5 [Invalidity of term of contract of service] of the Retirement Act.  

NTU action in setting differential mandatory retirement age of 55 and 65 years old without any job relevance or distinction for tenured academic staff had discriminated arbitrarily and therefore violated the “equal protection” provision of Article 12 of The Singapore Constitution.  It was again Unlawful, and illegal.

NTU also demanded that those staff desiring to continue working beyond 55 years old, if they had not already been selected for the 65 year old retirement age group, MUST accept a Mandatory 50% pay reduction.  This forced a Hobson’s choice especially for Singaporeans rooted here with families and children attending local schools.   

In doing so, NTU contravened the International Labour Conventions of the United Nations of which Singapore is also a signatory. The 50% Mandatory pay reduction was a clear violation of the Core ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration. No staff, whether Singaporean Professors or foreigner, should have been forced to take a 50% paycut just to be able to report the day after “retirement at 55 years old” to teach the SAME subjects to the SAME Classes of students and perform the SAME duties.  That’s the employment abuse addressed by ILO Convention 100, which was ratified by Singapore, was designed to Prevent.

Kopi Level - Green

Read Full Analysis with References here:

18 comments:

  1. Reading this article is depressing. Our university professors also got discriminated and sack in favour of foreigners. How could average Sinkies stand a chance?

    If professors can be purged, Sinkies can also be purged, from their jobs and country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "The Great Purge took place from 2007-2010."

    Assuming the great purge was true, but PAP still got 60% votes a year later, in GE 2011!!!!

    This shows that majority Sinkies voting for PAP despite purges of Sinkie professors are separate matters.

    Just like fare hikes despite more MRT breakdowns are separate matters.


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  3. It's OK to purge Sinkie professors or Sinkies in general as long as the strongest Sinkie opposition party is not ready to be govt.

    If strongest is also not ready, can forget about the rest, tio bo?

    And PAP knows majority Sinkies will never vote for a party/parties not ready to be govt.

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  4. They said that they did a survey and a high percentage of post retirement age Singaporeans love to continue working.

    This statement may be misleading. Love to continue working by choice or by circumstances? Some are forced to work because they have no savings or untouchable savings in CPF. So they say most elderly people love to work because the people they interviwed and broadcasted on MSM said so. What about broadcasting the views of those who love to retire at 55?

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  5. Sad! Sad! Sad!

    It was really shocking if the
    great purge as described was
    true.

    Why? Why? Why?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Didn't the professors love to work past 65? Why sack them?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why sack them?
    Anon 10:51 am

    Why cannot? What can they do? Join the Sinkie opposition and ready to be govt next election?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very good suggestions. All the sacked professors, please join the opposition. They need your talent.

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  9. Maybe they sacked those deadwood Sinkie professors? So that only the cream of the Sinkies and foreign talent professors remain?

    If so, then I am agreeable to the sacking, doesn't matter Sinkies or not. I will do the same if I have the power to sack them. In any organisation and level, there will always be some deadwood that need to be purged.

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  10. The International Labour Conventions put forth by the ineffective and presumptuous United nations is not a fucking law lah.

    Get the facts straight man!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hiring and firing to climb up the ranking, yes it sounds like corporate singapore, the perverse needs to be in ranking even if it detrimental to Singaporean in general.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anon 11:11, you are wrong. There is no deadwood in parliament.

    And all the PMEs would like to thank you for your objective comment. They are all deadwoods and the foreigners are all talents, including fake ones.

    Anyone knows what is happening to the great job banks? Die a natural death?

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  13. All the sacked professors can go and apply in the job banks. Or they can go for retraining to become male nurses or taxi drivers.

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  14. we are supposed to watch out for each other's back, not play out one another for some stupid false ranking. so many laws broken, who will actually go to jail? or maybe, it's OK to break the laws sometime ... pray tell me under what conditions? is govt going to investigate NTU over this? that is, if we are really, really serious about law and order, eh.

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  15. What is more painful is our money being used for this stupid ranking title. And our own professors being sacked by foreigners and paid by our money.

    Seow leow.

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  16. It does not only happen in university. They purged the locals out from every major businesses, bring in the foreigners and then accused that locals no talents. How can someone exercise talents when that someone cannot even exist? They have forgotten that it was sinkies that built up the island and not foreigners 50 years ago. Thats why, politicians are bad until proven otherwise.

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  17. getting rid of Sporeans only can be treason. Gov must investigate NTU. maybe add to current investigations by Ernst Young on top ntu mgt financial corruption ... what's the findings? any bribes given to the foreign univ rankers .. maybe not money ... can use wine, dine, "entertainment", lah. very serious if true.

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  18. Roy or Jee Say or Sze Hian interested in NTU breaking the law?
    No, Not interested? Then why care so much about CPF, Operation Cold Store, Internal Security Act, HDB and whatever.
    If PAP kakis suka suka break the laws, what else they dare not do.
    Wake up, people! Stop dreaming!

    ReplyDelete