Making changes to
our current National Service policies to give our National
Servicemen greater flexibility in planning their career?
Shervin
Huang
Writer’s forward: National Service is an issue that is
close to the heart of every male Singaporeans. Thus, any change in
National Service policies will affect those whom are currently
doing their National Service and those who have yet to fulfill
their obligation.
SINGAPORE– One of the main grouses of National
Service (NS) is that the latter takes up two years of our lives,
which could be spent doing more productive things. Compared with
our female peers from the same batch, we typically enter the work
force two years later.
The reduction of NS term for full-time NS (NSF) men from two and
a half years to two years was seen as a welcome change. However,
more can be done to give NSFs the flexibility to disrupt their
full-time NS in order to pursue their studies.
If the disruption policy was made more flexible, NS men can save
up to one year, entering the workforce one year behind their female
peers from the same batch. Consider this example of a male and
female peer both graduating from their pre-university course at the
end of december 2009.* The female peer will commence the first year
of her university studies in August 2010. The male will typically
enlist for his national service in January 2010. By July 2011, the
female would have completed her first year of studies while her
male peer would have completed one and a half years of his NS.
If allowed to disrupt after one and a half years of NS, the male
peer will commence his university studies in August 2011, exactly
one year behind his female peer. A typical undergraduate program
lasts from three to four years. The male peer will use his long
semester break after the second semester to serve his remaining NS
term. He will typically require up to two long semester breaks,
each about three months long, to complete his NS obligations. By
his third year in university, he would have completed his mandatory
two years term of NS.
Whilst it is understandable that some students will still want
to enjoy their semester breaks without the hassle of serving the
rest of their NS term, this flexibility in disruption policy is
meant to cater to those who want to make the best use of their time
and enter the workforce early. They stand to gain from an extra
year’s salary from their profession and necessary working
experience compared to their same peers who did not take the same
route as them. They will also not lack that far behind their
females peers.
Ultimately, NS is a form of sacrifice that Singaporean males
must make. However, the lawmakers in charge of planning NS policies
should provide more choices to NS men so that the latter can chart
their career path to their best advantage.
*EDITS: Polytechnic students typically finish their diplomas
during the month of march, and not at the end of the year as
mentioned earlier. “A” levels are completed by the end of the
year.