Uni rankings not everything:
PM
GUEST OF HONOUR: PM Lee at
the official opening of NUS University Town. PHOTO: THE STRAITS
TIMES
Universities here
should not just chase international rankings, said Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.
He explained that this is because they have a national and
social mission that goes beyond grades.
Unlike institutions like Harvard University in the
US or China's Peking University, which admit a small percentage of
students in those countries, Singapore's universities admit the
bulk of its tertiary-bound students, said the PM.
So, while rankings bring good repute, the
universities' broader mission must be to develop a student's social
conscience.
Universities should also imbue in students "a sense
that they have a responsibility to take Singapore forward", said Mr
Lee at the official opening of Singapore University Town (UTown),
reported The Straits Times online.
EDUCATION HUB
UTown is an educational hub complete with residential spaces,
teaching facilities and study clusters.
It is part of a wider effort to improve the
tertiary education sector, with the Government also committed to
increasing the number of university places from 27 per cent of each
cohort now to 40 per cent by 2020.
But the PM cautioned that the expansion must not
come at the expense of churning out degree-holders without jobs
that fit their training or fulfil their aspirations.
He pointed to countries like South Korea, where
unemployment among university graduates of vocational high
schools.
"Other countries have found that having large
proportions of students going to university does not necessarily
guarantee happy outcomes," he said.
News, The New Paper, Friday, October 18 2013, Pg 4