NUS and NTU needs a washing machine

Singapore is very proud of NUS and NTU that have been ranked among the best universities in the world. As an alumnus it is a good feeling to be a member of prestigious institutions even if the rankings have been the subject of ridicules and uncomplimentary remarks. What is important is the aspiration to want to be the best, and for doing so there are many things that must be put right in the process of getting there, even if we are not there.

In brief, without going into an academic discourse, there are four main factors that contributed to the quality of a learning institution, the academic staff, the students, the culture of learning, and the infrastructure. The most difficult to achieve good and respectable quality are the students and the culture. The latter is a complex issue that can prove to be evasive and defeating. As for the students, it is an issue of that is all we got. But today, good students can be bought or brought in from all over the world. If the responsibility of educating the children of the country is secondary, we can buy all the top students from the world to be here. But this is unlikely except when the govt is made up of silly asses that think this is a non country, where the interests of the citizens are expendable. If the children of our citizens are not top material we will give the places to the gentiles of the world.

The quality of the academic staff and the infrastructure are easier to manage. We have the money and can build and provide whatever that is needed. The most advance leading edge equipment and facilities would be made available. As for the academic staff, if we want the best from the world, we have the money, we can even relocate Yale, Princeton, Harvard or Cambridge lock, stock and barrel here. It is only a matter of price.

While we are in blind pursuit of quality and reputation, to create the best learning institutions here, we must not be so blind to bring in the shit and fakes as well. We have our embarrassing moments of fakes in our midst and held in high regards by other fakes who could not tell the difference between a fake and the real stuff. And we also have a lot of creeps and rogues that are hired to beef up the quality of our institutions. Unbelievable! How can the institutions live with fakes, shits and character flawed professors and teaching staff to teach our students?

Some organizations, even govt related, can dismiss fakes and degree mills as no crime, as part and parcel of importing foreigners and living the fakes. But for institutions that are being pep up to be the best among the best, any slipshod or shits must be gotten rid of immediately. There is no room for mediocrity or fakes and flawed personalities if we want to be the best. And one by one the fakes and freaks and shitty characters are revealing themselves. The latest as reported in the TRE, and I quote, ‘NUS assistant law professor Sundram Peter Soosay was convicted by the court yesterday (29 May) of assaulting a 70-year-old cabby, Mr Sun Chun Hua, while drunk.’

Other than the aspiration to be the best institutions of learning, it is madness to have fakes and shits among the academic staff to teach our students. The thought of their existence, and they are given the responsibilities to teach our young undergraduates/post graduates, is simply disgusting. How many of such fakes and shits is still hiding in our world best institutions and being paid world best pay and doing damage to our students? Eventually the reputation of these institutions would cave in. It is very unflattering to be infamous for having fakes and shits as teaching staff and very embarrassing for graduates to have been taught by them.

I recommend the two institutions to buy the best washing machine, those with fuzzy logic, to clean up the shits and fakes in them. Please don’t swear that all is well. We pay top dollars and should be getting the best, not freaks and sluts to shit on our young and impressionable minds. The two institutions have a grave responsibility to do due diligence to the public funds given to them to ensure that we have the best to teach our young. Please do not just believe in the papers and testimonials. I can buy tons of them for a song. Not only there are degree mills, there are also testimonial mills.