UNSW call it quits after 3 months, $250million wasted

last SG · 2007-05-23T23:54:24+00:00

[quote:]Originally posted by lionnoisy: Now aussie find OSA is very useful!! UNSW used Singapore OSA laws to stop freedom-of-information laws bid,Harriet A...

walesa SG

The irony of it all stems from the fact that those bureaucrats handpicked by this regime to oversee its state agencies like the EDB are inept to the extent of being unable to comprehend the intangible details which render the educational landscape here being different to that of the US or UK.

For all the talk from the fascists about wanting NUS and NTU to be among the world's best universities (in their lingo, being comparable to the Harvards, UC Berkeleys, Oxfords, Cambridges and Princetons of this world), they don't even seem to have been able to comprehend the dynamics and distinction between public and private institutions, much less the different demographic composition integral to such institutions. The whole UNSW debacle is nothing more than an extension of such fallacious "foresight" backfiring spectacularly on them.

In short, their disgraceful effort (with UNSW) to establish this regime as an educational hub in the region is, at best, nothing more than a wild attempt at trying to conquer Mt Everest with just a pair of slippers...

maurizio13 SG

Originally posted by 4getmenot:
well [b]ANOTHER lesson learnt.. lets MOVE ON...again..

Laughing [/b]

Are you sure they ever learn?

Fingolfin_Noldor SG

A better idea would have been, is to run the university the same way US Public Universities are run: Charge local students much much less, like 1/2 the private fee, and then charge the foreign students much more. Even the 22K SGD is only a few thousand dollars off what some US universities charge. It's ridiculous that they even charged that much. Then next is the Govt to provide real financial support to the university so that they can subsidise local students. Then you might consider a huge student population. Anything else is plain stupid and unrealistic.

But given how this damn Govt thinks, such a plan is highly unlikely, seeing how it operates in general and no doubt the other NTU and NUS would squawk at seeing their potential funds wither away and then you have the backdoor realpolitik the Govt is full of.

That said, it is obvious the Govt is targeting foreigners. That's a definite. But, obviously, they totally overestimated their self-worth as usual. They must be smoking pot when they thought people would buy the whole "Singapore is a safe, secure country" bull shit.

spinsugar SG

Well done. They've turned Singapore into a laughing stock yet again.

*slaps forehead* Mee Siam mai hum.

4getmenot SG

yup..the gahmen seem to be losing more money than ever aat a much faster ratio... i'd expect another GST increase in two years time to try to top up the losses in the reserves

4getmenot SG

i guess case was probably talking bout the effects on the students who enrolled there..since we all know case has no role to play in this venture between EDB and UNSW imagine what would happended if it came right out from the mouth of an EDB spokesman..

(human) SG

With the size of profit that the national reserve can yield from investment, citizens of Singapore should be enjoying lower cost of living. But this is not the case, after listening to repeated losses due to making of wrong decision or errors made by the government or those so called talents. Singaporeans have to bear the costs and penalty for thier faults.

A small leak can sink a great ship, no matter how big our national reserve is, if they carry on to move on with such performance, eventually Singaporeans are going to suffer.

Quincey SG

I think the key point of all the key points that come out of these debacles is accountability. Sure, ventures fail. But in the real world, when ventures fail, the individuals who orchestrate and operate these very ventures have to account for their failings. It is not about pointing the finger and going on a witch hunt, it is more than that. Accountability, if i could use it in such loose terms, shows what went wrong and god willing, that such mistakes not repeat itself. If a recipe doesn’t work out, or for that matter a tried and tested recipe doesnt work out in a new enviroment, surely its about time we try something differnet?

charlize SG

What they lose overseas, they just take back from Singaporeans lor, be it through GST or ERP or whatever.

They just need to take $100 from each Singaporean and voila, they have 250 million dollars.

So simple. Laughing

4getmenot SG

i think the singaporeans are already suffering... Sad

Tiggerific SG

well mate, to be honest, we have always been, haven't we?

will4 SG

We will see another increase in migration among the local.

4getmenot SG

oh no not me.. i already left long time ago Mr. Green

Fingolfin_Noldor SG

Let's put it this way: The Govt values respect for public institutions (and even enforces it in many ways) and its face so much that for all the talk about good Governance, they score zero on that. We can rant all we want, but the country would sooner burn before anything happens.

Tiggerific SG

but migration will only happen to those who can afford it. most of us locals can't unfortunately...

walesa SG

You've got to be kidding. Afterall, you're talking about a regime run by boffins whose educational system is so unique it belongs to a select handful (if not the only one) where foreigners actually pay the same fees as the locals(in fact, when you consider the scholarships available for foreign "talents", they probably pay less than locals). I wonder when will the US Federal government follow in the silly footsteps of this regime by providing federal grants to foreigners... Laughing

Yes, we're supposed to believed NUS and NTU are on their way to becoming the world's top universities under the stewardship of imbeciles. Cool

^tamago^ SG

Heard that it was due to a tax issue with our government....

lionnoisy SG

dunt forget there are some 80,000 foreign students here,spending
$500 to $1600 per month per student.

If their mum is here,the spending will be more.

Quincey SG

Of course, we cannot forget or discount these successes. Credit goes to the Govt. and the EDB. However, discounting the lessons from UNSW pull out and just trumpeting these successes would be foolish for the long term prospect in creating Singapore as an education centre.

nismoS132 SG

drawing large numbers of students alone doesn’t make an ‘education hub’.

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