Warwick votes against Singapore campus
Financial Times
October 14, 2005
By John Burton in Singapore
SENIOR lecturers at Warwick University in the UK have voted against
setting up a branch campus in Singapore due to worries about limits
on academic freedom, dealing a possible setback to the city-state's
ambitions to become a regional hub for higher education.
Singapore requires international educational institutions operating
in the city-state to agree not to conduct activities seen as
interference in domestic affairs.
The lopsided 27-13 �no� vote by Warwick's senate this week is
believed to be the first time a foreign university has rejected the
conditions set by Singapore. Although the vote is non-binding, it
is likely to put pressure on the university council to abandon the
Singapore plan when it makes a final decision on October 18.
Warwick and Australia's University of New South Wales are the only
two foreign universities selected by Singapore's Economic
Development Board to set up a full-scale campus.
The city-state has succeeded in attracting smaller schools operated
by several top institutions, including Insead and the University of
Chicago Graduate Business School, in an effort to triple the number
of university students to 150,000 in the next decade.
The Warwick vote came as the outgoing US ambassador to Singapore
warned in a farewell speech that Singapore's limits on expression
might cause the government to �pay an increasing price for not
allowing full participation of its citizens�.
Faculty and students at Warwick have questioned the costs of the
nearly £300m ($525m) project and the university's ability to
attract quality students and staff to the Singapore campus. But
much of the criticism has focused on limits on academic freedom and
civil liberties, including curbs on gay rights and high execution
rates for criminals.
Warwick recently sent a letter to EDB asking that its students in
Singapore be exempt from strict laws limiting freedom of assembly,
speech and the press, and the removal of bans on homosexuality and
certain religious practices on campus.
It also sought guarantees that staff and students would not be
punished by the Singapore government for making academic-related
comments that might be seen �as being outside the boundaries of
political debate�. EDB said it would not comment.
The demand that the Singapore campus enjoy the same degree of
academic freedom as in the UK came in response to an advisory
report by Thio Li-ann, a law professor at the National University
of Singapore, which said freedom of �speech is permissible as long
as it does not threaten real political change or to alter the
status quo�.
She warned that �the government will intervene if academic reports
cast a negative light on their policies� but said the presence of
Warwick in Singapore could �serve as an impetus for continued
liberalisation�.
