Yushui Village in Lijiang, Yunnan, with snow mountain backdrop and cascading waterfalls.
5/06/2015
Singapore an education hub compromised
The Singapore Brand and the education hub Singapore is promoting for quality education would be the first victim if degree mills are going to be widespread and accepted without any disapproval shown by the authority. An education hub is all about quality of education and integrity of the institutions and the degree or diploma awarded. No legitimate students looking for quality education and a reputable degree would sign up with a degree mill or come to Singapore’s education hub if the image of degree mills and fake degrees become the norm here.
Degree mills and fake degrees will undermine and compromise the institutions of learning here. They will make a mockery of acquiring a good degree from a reputable institution and render them useless or a waste of time. Why waste time and money when a fake will do to get a good job?
How could the existence of good quality education and reputable universities exist side by side with fake degrees and degree mills? How could the authority tolerate the flaunting of fake degrees from degree mills and treating them lightly, like no issue and expect some respect for the graduates of legitimate universities?
What is the message? On one hand we are promoting quality education. On the other hand we are turning a blind eye to fake degrees and degree mills. Are the institutions of higher learning going to protest when their students are raped openly by the holders of fake degrees and losing out to them in employment opportunities? Do these institutions see the damage done to the value of their degrees and to their graduates?
The issue of fake degrees and degree mills has wider implications and consequences not only to the institutions of learning and the Singapore Brand. It will have negative effects on the education industry and the education hub that we are promoting here, to invite foreign students to study here, to grow an industry and revenue for the country.
Let me contribute a little to the degree mills. I am going to register for a few Ph Ds. My wall is quite empty and I need a few decorative pieces on it. Better than expensive paintings. Collecting degree mill Ph Ds can be an interesting and cheap hobby. I swear I will not put them in my resume. It is just a past time, a hobby.
PS. The Oregon state had named 6 institutions in Singapore offering unaccredited qualifications:
1. Cranston University
2. Templeton University
3. Trident University of Technology
4. Vancouver University Worldwide
5. Westmore University
6. Lee Community College
ST reported that Vancouver University Worldwide, which was ordered to be shut by the Canadian government in 2007, had been offering its courses in Singapore for several years.
(This is posted in an editorial in TRE)
If the Government does not worry, can't be bothered to be worried, then everything is fine. After all, Sinkieland is a fine country.
ReplyDeleteSin is suspected to be a major money laundering hub for decades.
ReplyDeleteNow, it is suspected to have become a fake degree mill and worse, those with degrees from these Degree Mills are given jobs at the expense of the local who paid high fees for their Degrees locally and abroad.
If there is any future for Singaporeans, that future is not in Sin.
Hahahaha since when SG known as "quality" education hub?!?
ReplyDeleteSince 1990 when I had to work with some foreigner interns studying at private Unis here, I got to know how the system works by paying under-table money, slack (or zero) academic standards, close both eyes, etc.
Most of these foreigners studying here in private "Unis" are actually here to work --- they spend more time working in cafes/restaurants/call centres/sales staff/cleaners etc than actually in classes.
does it include our police?
ReplyDeleteWe are on the Downhill. Period.
ReplyDeleteAfter LKY, it seems standards are falling. Gone are the days when all civil servants will pee in their pants if they make mistakes. Today, even ministers are not worried for doing silly stuff. There is feeling that there is no more control except if you are opposition.
As always, what matters is whether those 'hubs' are of quality or not, the most important thing is it adds value to the GDP. Nothing else matters!
ReplyDeleteThe people who loose out are those who put in hard work for their geniune degrees. The people who gain are those who got their fake degrees from the mills. In the end, those that gain will argue and those that loose will also argue until blue.
One thing bothers me a little, though not the powers that be, and that is how can Sinkieland improve its productivity when foreigners working here do not bother about productivity, knowing they will be sent home after their contract is over.
How can the semi-retired oldie be expected to perform like a younger person in terms of productivity just boggles the mind, despite what those who want them to work, and not be a burden to the Government may say about the benefits of employing them.
Don't misunderstand me, because I am an oldie myself and knows how much slower my hands and minds and reflexes work as I aged. You can't change that and medical science have no answer to that as well. Even the most powerful person, with all his wealth, in Sinkieland had to succumb to the ageing process.
You think all the chairmans are thinking and working faster than you and so deserve to be paid even more as they get greyer or whiter?
ReplyDeleteSo, how can they be expected to contribute to productivity growth? It is all a load of shit.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIs This The New Normal?
If it is LEGAL to have degrees
from these "universities", very
soon it may become a new trend
to "earned" such degrees through
these "universities" rather than
the much much more expensive
traditional universities.
If that happened, everywhere you
go, it will be very common to
find people addressing each
other, friends, neighbours, and
colleagues as Dr so and so.
You may become very common for
you to address the waiters or the
counter staff serving you as
Dr so and so.
Not joking! Many PhDs!
Hahaha.............
This may be good if legal!
At least these "universities"
provide an easy outlet to satisfy
the needs of those people who
wish to feel very good about
their academic achievements.
So, it is not that bad after all.
Cheers.
which website to get one?
ReplyDeleteDegree mills and fake degrees will undermine and compromise the institutions of learning here.
ReplyDeleteRB
But despite this, is PAP still considered by the majority (aka 60%) voters as the best available party to vote for in a GE?
And will those foreign talents still able to contribute to GDP growth, despite some, and only some, having degrees from degree mills?
If yes, then that's what really matters for PAP, isn'it?
Let me get this straight.
ReplyDeleteYew cannot manage and control the proliferation of degree mills in Yewtopia.
But Yew tell us that our Singapore Reserves is safe and well managed based on blind trust.
That sounds like a good plan.
I support and will vote for Yew.
"And will those foreign talents still able to contribute to GDP growth, despite some, and only some, having degrees from degree mills?"
ReplyDeleteMay 06, 2015 10:57 a.m.
How I know these Alien Talents are contributing to GDP growth?
Just trust your word is it?
You must be living in Yewtopia.
I support and will definitely vote PAP to continue this state of Yewtopia.
Sin sounds pretty lawless.
ReplyDeleteXin kapor wu Chenghu boh?
How come Minster for Education and also Prime Minister continue to keep quiet about this very serious issue?
ReplyDeleteSilence means Consent.
Consent means Singapore is going down the Degree Mills Road in Broad Day Light, like the 49-year-old (I think he should be in his early 30s, not 49) who assulted and intimidated Amos Yee in Broad Day Light in front of the State Courts (previously known as Magistrate Courts).
Actually I take the opposite view. Singapore has shown itself to have the BALLS and the foresight to use its territory as a free market experiment for education.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one or a few the "unaccredited" institutions will rise to the challenge and deliver QUALITY which is equivalent or exceeds that available only at the "established" universities and colleges.
You never know. The market is where enterprises live or die. It is also where consumers gain or lose their "investment" depending on whether they do due diligence or take the "caveat emptor" approach.
Employers too will display their preferences in the market is choosing who to hire, and to the extent which "qualifications" matter in the context of potential employment.
To those who still believe that their shit doesn't stink because the obtained a "real" degree---welcome to the REAL world. If you "put all your eggs in one basket", you might just end up "disappointed" and it'll serve you right for not being a critical thinker.
Apparently, your "established education" isn't so great afterall, because you might have that degree, but you didn't get the critical thinking skills to back up that degree. Without those skills, your degree is just a piece of paper. Quite an expensive one too ;-)
Got "wake the fuck up"?
How come Minster for Education and also Prime Minister continue to keep quiet about this very serious issue?
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:16 p.m.
If they can do nothing, or rather can afford to do nothing about it, keep quiet is the right and also the best thing to do mah, tio bo.
Or else u expect them to admit they can do nothing about it, is it?
Which is more powerful?
ReplyDeleteCardboard Policeman
or
Cardboard Minister of Education
or
Cardboard Minister of Manpower
With the caption title:
"Stop. Fake degrees is a crime."
Actually hor.
Is CEO of MDA more powerful?
Maybe "fake degree is not a crime anymore." ???
How powerful also must bite the dust one day.
ReplyDelete@216:
ReplyDelete>> How come Minster for Education and also Prime Minister continue to keep quiet about this very serious issue?
Because that it THE RIGHT thing to do. The state should not be the one to decide on education, and they are right by making a slow exit.
No one knows what the future will be for a re-structured economy with stuff like nanotech, AI, algorithms and other new additions to the chain of production, and thus the kinds of skills or characters require by HUMANS, if humans will still be relevant at all by that time.
That said, it is best to have a FREE and OPEN MARKET for education. May the most relevant providers win.
Technological and cultural changes are BUSTING UP all sorts of "classical" institutions. The entertainment and music industries have been
creatively destroyed" by the mp3, mp4 and peer-to-peer networks. State issued fiat currencies are under threat from crypto currencies like BitCoin. Newspapers are losing revenue to online news aggregators. Electronic publishing threatens established publishers. Online trading is making brokers and remisers more and more obsolete. Trading itself is being hammered by High Frequency Trading algorithms and dark pools.
Etc etc. The whole world and our very notion of "existence" is changing and changing RAPIDLY.
Free markets are best when the going is so chaotic no one can make accurate predictions. If you still hang onto "controlled" markets or "command" economies, there is a good chance of misallocating resources and LOSING THE WHOLE DAMN LOT, because you took a wrong "gamble" on the future.
Got uncertainty anxiety?
Floods in Orchard Road is caused by the trees.
ReplyDeleteMosquitoes breeding on rooftop water tanks is caused by the birds.
Rat infestation at Bukit Batok is caused by people feeding the dogs.
I hope this fake degree fiasco is not going to be blamed on the WP.
Now, the grandmaster of deflection is gone and I wonder which other deity they will bring out to counter the issue?
More examples on "creative destruction" (feel free to add)
ReplyDelete1. Email threatening postal service for letters
2. Online shopping threatens brick-and-mortar retail
3. VoIP services like Skype and Facetime threaten telephone companies
4. Uber threatens established taxi services
5. Air B N B threatens established hospitality industry
6. Internet banking has forced banks to shrink their staff numbers
...and so on.
Yew can say anything yew want in yewtopia.
ReplyDeleteIn Yewtopia, is there any difference between a human PAP Minister and a cardboard PAP Minister?
ReplyDeleteCardboard AVA Officer:
ReplyDelete"Stop - Importing Radioactive Food From Japan Is A Crime."
---------
Hong Kong 'Loophole' May Have Flooded China With Radioactive Japanese Foods
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-05/hong-kong-loophole-may-have-flooded-china-radioactive-japanese-foods
Do you know if the food you are eating in Yewtopia is safe?
Hong Kong imported 15,093 tonnes of vegetables and fruit from Japan by sea last year, about 0.8 per cent of total vegetables and fruit imports by sea.
ReplyDeleteSince March 2011, the department had stepped up surveillance of fresh produce imported from Japan such as milk, vegetables and fruits, to examine radiation levels, a spokesman said.
Kowloon Fruit and Vegetable Merchants Association vice-chairman Cheung Chi-cheung said importers had to notify the department for inspection whenever they picked up the goods.
He also did not comment on whether there might be a loophole in the inspection system.
Once again it seems Japanese falsehoods are at the center of another potential international issue...
no we are not devaluing our currency...
no Fukushima is safe...
no radiation leaks are under control...
no the economy is proceeding on a moderate pace of recovery...
no the US alliance is not antagonistic, we are pacifists... and now
no the food we sent you is not radioactive...
SOURCE:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-05/hong-kong-loophole-may-have-flooded-china-radioactive-japanese-foods
@people who don't understand science, live in fear and fear monger over non-existent threats:
ReplyDeleteFor fucks sake lah. Food from Fukushima is SAFE.
If you don't want to eat it, fine, more for me at "great" prices ;-)
Anyway a few of you will be getting cancers regardless. Most have already substantially increased their risk from inhaling all that particulate matter from Indonesian fires. (lung and bladder cancer) Plus eating that hawker food cooked with palm oil. (colorectal cancer)
Got advanced medical directive? 💀💀
Food products from Vietnam are being sold here. The effect of Agent Orange is still affecting many Vietnamese. It is in the soil and water.
ReplyDeleteI avoid Viet food if I can help it.
@ RB:
ReplyDeleteYes, the presence of dioxins in food from Vietnam has been detected in the US. I don't know if AVA or Health Sciences tests/ samples Vietnamese food imported into Singapore, nor do I know if dangerous levels of dioxins have been measured by the 2 aforementioned state agencies who are TRUSTED to ensure our food safety. (Hmmmm....)
It could be prudent to avoid stuff from Vietnam. Catfish farmed in Vietnam known as "basa" might be found in fish menu items in fast food chains---it's hard to tell.
So you take reasonable precautions to avoid Vietnamese produce because of the dioxin risk. Then you take the kids to no_name_mentioned_don't_want_to_be_sued fast food "family" restaurant, and they order the fish burgers, or fish whatever.
Then consider the tens of thousands of school kids everyday who visit _no_name_mentioned_don't_want_to_be_sued fast food "family" restaurant after school with their friends.
Point is: you don't know what goes into the food you eat nor where it really comes from. You eat at food centre or cafe or hawker or even 5 star restaurant. How can you be certain they are not using produce from Vietnam? How do you know that the food supplier is being "honest" and "transparent" with critical info about items in his inventory?
Fact is: You don't. No one really knows FOR SURE. Not unless you carry your own agri-farm produce testing laboratory around with you.
The frozen dory fish fillet (is it from Vietnam?)is the cheapest fish meat sold in the supermarket. So no doubt this fish fillet will be used by hawkers or even in restaurants and commonly cooked by the deep frying method.
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason for it being cheapest? And is it value for money?
Just as there must be reasons why foreign talent PMEs are cheaper than Sinkie PMEs, tio bo?
Cardboard PAP Health Minister.
ReplyDeleteCaption Says:
"Avoid Eating Dioxin Tainted Food For Better Health."
Cardboard PAP Transport Minister.
Caption Says:
"To Ease Overcrowded Trains, Please Do Not Board When Trains Are Full."
I have seen many produce from Vietnam in FairPrice, fully labelled. You decide for yourself, just like food from Japan. The radioactive contamination has hit the west coast of North America.
ReplyDeleteWhether we like it, or fear it, we still have to eat. Plenty of rice and vegetables come from Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteFor heavens sake, do not believe what they tell you about how safe genetically modified foods are. And how about health foods? How about food contamination from plastic wrappings and containers. Oh yes, those are very safe they will tell you.
Thing is, the whole world is now wrapped around with plastic materials and we think we are very safe. And there is no way we can go backwards and get rid of them. Extinction can come from the most unlikely sources.
@ everyone:
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day it comes down to TESTING, and re-testing, and more independent testing.
The word "radioactive" immediately makes our fear-centric monkey brain send signals for us to AVOID the apparent danger. To find out with a significant statistical certainty (not "for sure", nothing is ever "for sure") whether the food is safe or unsafe comes down to testing and getting large amounts of data. Blind the test, or double blind---even better. That helps get rid of "human biases" which we all have and do not have a choice over their occurrence in our minds.
@1233:
The word "dory" for fish is a marketing term for certain species, so you can rest assured there is widespread CONFUSION amongst consumers.
I would say, with reasonable certainty (hey, I could be wrong) that the cheap dory in the supermarket/ wholesalers is Pangasius (aka "basa), or the Vietnamese catfish. They are cultivated in fish farms along the Mekong. After watching THIS DISGUSTING VIDEO, I have stopped buying Basa for my curries.
Disclaimer: Just like everyone else, I too have a fear-centric monkey brain. I have NO TRUSTED WAY to determine the veracity of the above-mentioned video. Maybe it is fake created by rival catfish farmers in the US to scare the consumer into avoiding Vietnamese fish. But in my case, I was so turned off by the video, I now only buy fish caught in Aust waters.
In Aust it is ILLEGAL to use nets for commercial fishing. Only hook and line are allowed---which is labour intensive. No trawling. Therefore fresh Aussie fish is EXPENSIVE. Fuck it. It's safe, and many people like me, will pay.
Like RB says, you be the judge lah. If AVA and Health Sciences---our "respected" authorities passed dory/ basa as "safe", then maybe it is. Up to you!
I am skeptical of any food which comes from China and Vietnam. Vietnam and China are excellent for producing electronics, white goods, tools etc. But when it comes to food...I avoid.
I also avoid fast food. I don't know what the fuck shit is in that stuff. Lucky for me, I love to cook, so I prepare most of my food---which is wholesome, nutritious and healthy. I only buy produce from reputable stores which I've been going to for years.
But in modern life, eating out is inevitable. You have to meet people, network, quan xi, or you soon become irrelevant. So at some point you will have to "trust" the cafes, restaurants and food courts, or you will never leave the house, where you'll be cowering in fear!
Lucky in Singapore, one thing we do do very fucking well is FOOD. We are world class and world famous. We will drive for miles, queue up and pay extravagantly for delicious food. Anyone who comes here, once they "kena" our "makan culture" will go home and tell all their friends about the experiences.
Makan already or not?
How can a high class LKY ended up with so cheapo successors? This gov likes anything cheapo and makes the country and the people look cheapo liao. This kind of cheapo gov must not be voted in again and must be replaced by non cheapo gov that do not pay themselves uncheapo.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, only very desperate people will buy a degree. The key question is why gov bodies in this world wants to employ very desperate people? The reason may lie with the fact that very desperate people will try anything to stay in that job including fraud and sleeping with the boss. I highly suspected high level of sex exchange kind of corruption between the job giver and the job taker.
ReplyDelete