5/31/2013

Why go to university?


This is going to bug many parents and the children when going to university is being played down as something not really necessary. In the past, going to university is very simple. A degree will mean a good life, getting a good job to earn bigger pay and to bring up a family with all the trappings of wealth and comfortable things. It was so simple then.

Many people are still going to university for exactly this reason and nothing else. Getting a degree is for a practical reason, to land a better job and a better life. When this is no longer a valid reason, when the outputs, in monetary terms, time and resources, do not make up for the rewards of a university education, would people start to stop thinking of going to the university? Must study hard is losing its meaning.

There are of course many varied reasons for people wanting a university education. There are obvious benefits of a university education, a more knowledgeable and enlightened person, a perfecting of self. Though this can be done differently, like going through university of hard knocks, a formal education is a short cut with a well planned training programme.

To some people, going to university is a personal fulfillment of sort, acquisition of knowledge and the joy of learning. But this group is a minority. Not many will go to pursue a degree for the sake of getting a degree. It is luxury, a past time, a hobby and satisfaction.

Back to the basics, get a degree for practical reasons. Now, with the new development, getting a degree has lost its practical reasons. The practical thing to do is to acquire skills and training to increase one’s market value, to be employable. I think it boils down to this and nothing else. Training to value add, and to get that job or promotion and a better salary and a better life.

Would you believe that many people are training to downgrade, to get a lower paying job, because their skills and experienced and training are no longer marketable or not wanted because the world’s talents are here to compete with them? Still there are some who would train to switch jobs for a matter of interest and satisfaction. But to train for a lower paying job because of necessity, because the employers do not want to employ them for their better skill and expertise, quite a different proposition altogether. Very defeatist and depressing isn’t it?

Do the people have a choice to train to upgrade rather than to train to downgrade, or worst, train for the sake or belief in training but going no where, does not contribute to improving their market value?

What should the young be told in schools if going to university is no longer the lucrative and assured road to a better job and a better life? Close the universities, close the schools?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will buy this argument if the ministers send their children to ITE and rough it out in life later. If not, do not talk c**k and expect others to stay in their kiam chye life. It's like advocating a caste system and trying to sell a meritocracy idea. Singaporeans are much smarter than they think.

Anonymous said...

That's why one must not be just an ordinary graduate.

Must be the best graduate, or rather the best available graduate.

Why Govt want foreigner graduates? Because they are better and there are also more of them than Sinkie graduates.

Because by competing in the whole, wide, world, Sinkie graduates end up not being the best available ones and also not enough in their own Sinkieland lah.

So it is not whether a degree got use or not but whether you are the best available or not.

Anonymous said...

Best available does not mean you must graduate with distinction.

It can also mean whether you are available to do an engineer job for only $1500 per month.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Bill Bennett -- former US Secretary Fo Education, liberal arts grad.

OK the book is about US trends, but there are points which are universally germane and thus relevant to Singapore.

I don't know what the job market is like for under grads now, but some of you might remember back in the late 1990's and early 2000's uni grads were struggling to earn $800-$1200 per month.

Some grads were jobless for 2 years or more.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Oh, I forgot:

Book is here.


YouTube video here

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

When the grads are jobless because there were no jobs is different from jobless because jobs were aplenty but given to foreigners.

Oops, you can't understand this. Foreigners and Singaporeans must receive equal rights to jobs in Sin City. No discrimination against foreigners. Against Singaporeans ok.

Anonymous said...

PLS LISTEN WELL! A DEGREE IS THE BASE IN THIS SOCIETY.

YOU MAY TELL ME SOME PEOPLE ARE DOING WELL WITHOUT DEGREE. BUT HOW MANY? IS THIS THE MAJORITY? LET DONT LIE!

A SOCIETY THAT WELCOMES FTs AND AIMED TO HV 6.9M PEOPLE, HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT DEGREE. IN FACT IN FUTURE YOU WILL BE ASKED HOW MANY DEGREES AND DIPLOMAS YOU HAVE AT INTERVIEWS.

SO DONT NEED A DEGREE???

HA HA HA !!!

Anonymous said...

Singaporeans no need degrees. FTs need degrees.

agongkia said...

This started because of the Stop at 2 policy lah.Many send their 2 children to school and everyone want them and become Tua Or Sheng.

In the end no one want to carry changkol ,drive taxi and operate crane and result in excess of book worms,angmosai,angmotit,square brain and cannot think out of the box and cause the shortage of blue collar workers.

Look at those Kena Sai leaders.Telling our neighbouring old folks home are cheaper,let the dog run anyhow to poopoo and make everyone waste time searching for it,making police report against disadvantage family for assault and giving residents more trouble instead of helping them,want to have extra marital affair dun know how to cover up....all these prove that our graduates are not street wise and square brain.

So the above prove that going to U is a waste of time.They are kind to tell you guys not to waste money and use your hard earn money for other purposes like buying yourself a pigeon hole even it may be a bit costly.

This one I have to agree.
Me,primary 4 only,a powkarleow in my company,low pay but sometimes got graduates consult me for advice....even on simple thing like how to cheeko with charbor..

The only thing one can benefit from going to U is that you can get Connections.Its good for their future.

Anonymous said...

QUESTION
----------
"What should the young be told in schools if going to university is no longer the lucrative and assured road to a better job and a better life?"


ANSWER
-------
Vote for a political party that can provide the leadership, vision and ability to create good jobs for Singaporeans.

Anonymous said...

To all our useless Leeders:

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

Anonymous said...

No need degrees lah. Primary school PSLE can be trained to be professional killer or rebel already. University degrees only make people become more and more submissive of the G and scare of this and that. Why study and then work so hard? got guts can kill can rebel can already. one kill can easily make one million. so many emperors were once rebels.

bond said...

When a gov said something like this, you know they are 'siao' aka crazy liao. Young people do not study then do what - become trouble makers? burn down houses and cars? many such incidents in usa and europe in those low literacy neighborhood. it will cost the society even more money and lives.