New directions in tertiary
education
Panel backs plans to widen uni
pathway
A PANEL that advises the
Government on tertiary education has endorsed preliminary
recommendations by the Committee on University Education on new
directions and models in university education beyond 2015.
The Committee, chaired by Minister of State for Defence
and Education Lawrence Wong, proposed expanding the university
sector by developing a new applied degree pathway, and ebhancing
continuing education and training opportunities at the degree
level.
In expressing its support for the proposals, the
International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP) emphasised that the
expansion of places had to be for the right type of university
education, reported The Straits Times.
Drawing on their collective experiences from across
Europe, North America and Asia, the IAAP members highlighted the
risks of rapidly expanding regular, academically-oriented degrees,
both in advanced and emerging economies.
Expansion had, in some cases, taken place at the expense
of relevance to students' aptitudes and the needs of the economy,
or without concomitant resourcing to ensure adequate resources and
quality.
The consequence of this: High attrition rates, reduced
graduate employability and a dilution in the value of new
university degrees.
The IAAP also supported the expansion of publicly-funded
university places, and discussed proposals for a greater focus on
Social Science and Humanities research in Singapore.
Local News watch, The New Paper, Thurday, July 5 2012, Pg 6
