Will these TARNISH S'PORE'S BRAND NAME?
By Elysa Chen and Leong Ching
July 18, 2007
MANY people see the Singapore brand as one of reliability and
quality.
Extra rotan strokes
But with the closing down of the University of New South Wales
(UNSW) campus, has our brand name taken a knock?
This was the concern of the eight MPs who filed questions in
Parliament yesterday asking for an update.
Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC) asked bluntly: 'May I ask the MOS
(Minister of State) whether the closure of the private schools here
have dented Singapore's reputation as an education hub? Are there
measures in place to regain lost ground?'
Replying, Mr Gan Kim Yong, MOS for the Education Ministry, said the
Government was deciding whether it was feasible to introduce an
accreditation system and a new regulatory framework.
But, he added, it was a 'fairly complex issue'.
'Today, we have some 1,200 private education organisations already
operating in Singapore and for us to regulate them, we will have to
do so very carefully.'
The MOE is consulting the industry now to understand its structure
better, and is looking to establish a balance between regulation
and promotion.
'We want to regulate and ensure compliance of the law but at the
same time we want to make sure that we do not stifle up-and-coming
new, emerging private education organisations that are trying to
make a mark.
'So... that is why we have to tread very carefully, consult widely,
understand the industry before we introduce a system.
'In a nutshell, from MOE's point of view, it is more important for
us to have a good solution rather than to have a quick
solution.'
Government Parliamentary Committee for Health chair Halimah Yacob
(Jurong GRC) also complained about the confusion caused by a lack
of 'an effective communication plan'.
'The impression given is that there was really no effective
communication plan or strategy to the students when the news broke
out to them and that has caused utter confusion and anxiety,' she
said.
Mr Gan explained that the decision to close the university was made
by UNSW itself.
'We were informed two days beforehand and immediately we swung into
action,' he said.
'We gathered our local universities as well as several private
educational organisers to set up a one-stop shop at the UNSW Asia
campus to help facilitate our students who are affected by the
closure. I think this is the best way that MOE feels that we can
extend a helping hand to the students who are faced with this
dilemma.'
Also in the spotlight yesterday was the case of Dickson Tan, who
had been in the news for being caned eight times - instead of the
five that he was sentenced to.
He was punished for abetting an illegal moneylender in harassing a
debtor and sentenced to nine months' jail and five strokes of the
cane. However, he got three extra strokes by mistake.
In Parliament yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
Law, Prof S Jayakumar explained that the court clerk had made a
mistake when he was transcribing the sentence from the case file
onto the warrant of commitment.
'PUT IT RIGHT'
The warrant of commitment notifies the Prisons Department of the
offender's sentence.
The error was not spotted at the next level of checks - the
sentencing district judge who signed off on the warrant.
Putting the issue in perspective, the Law Minister said that the
Subordinate Courts handle 200,000 criminal cases a year.
'Even if these mistakes are rare, even if there is only one case,
it is one case too many. We have to put it right and ensure it does
not recur,' he said.
The court clerk responsible was allowed to resign, instead of being
fired, as his overall performance record was good and because this
was his first mistake.
The district judge in charge of the case was formally cautioned,
and taken off judicial work which involves signing warrants of
commitment.
From now on, court officers have to follow checklists when
preparing paperwork for commitment to prison.
Warrants of commitment will now be checked twice at both levels, by
another court clerk not involved in the preparation of the warrant,
and by a second district judge.
There is also a review of all administrative procedures within the
courts to put in place a system to avoid such mistakes in the
future.
'We take responsibility, and put it right,' said the
minister.
'I think that is the way to uphold and strengthen the hard-won
reputation of our legal system for integrity and justice, which we
have built up over many years,' said Prof Jayakumar.