15th June 2007

The UNSW Saga.

The recent Saga of the UNSW pull-out has caused a couple of issues to surface. One is how education has been maligned as a business deal and nothing more. There other is the reliability of our education system. And thirdly, the attention paid to the victims- the students.

The announcement of the shut-down has left current and prospective students experience a kick in the teeth. Not only do they have to deal with the shock, but also re-search for answers pertaining their future and reliable options.

A couple of Universities have offered to help in this crisis. The latest speaks of Monash University who have invited in applications for students who have started their courses in areas like Science, Business and Engineering. Locally, NTU, NUS and SMU have also made provisions for students to apply. However, the decisions again are based on their individual criterions and the three local universities have said that they would be considering the applications on a case-by-case basis.

Some students had applied to UNSW because they couldn’t get into the local universities. UNSW, being at home, was the next best option. Foreign students too chose to study in Singapore instead of Sydney because they appreciated the safety here and felt closer to home. Some had built their circle of friends here and felt comfortable with their lifestyle in Singapore.

The current 148 students have been offered scholarships that will cover their living expenditures and fees as compensation. Singaporean students will receive $22,000 a year while non-Singaporeans will be reimbursed with $12,000. The students have been given over a month to decide if they want to withdraw from the programme.

Other angry students have signed a petition to save the school. They have dimmed hopes but still felt they shouldn’t leave out any chances.

Students were not the only ones affected in this life-altering event. Some staff had left their jobs and homes in Australia to shift to Singapore. Many of them do not want to be deployed back to Australia. Their experience with this sudden loss of employment has left most of them dealing with this “disruption of lives.” As compensation, technical, professional and administrative personnel will be receiving four months basic salary.

Views were expressed on the authenticity of education and how it was being ‘sold’ more than attending to its students. In this case, UNSW had displayed its inability to carry out responsibility towards its staff and students and focused on money making startegies. This step has snatched away the ideology from students that a university is where you learn to develop to be professionals and melt into a comfortable environment.

While students and staff were filled with emotions of disappointment, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said Singapore respects UNSW’s decision of the close down. He explained that the university had built the campus around an expectation of an intake of about 10,000 to 15,000 students. However, when things were not on par, EDB offered to support a plan for a smaller campus.

Mr Lim said that they will still be visualising Singapore as a global education hub and that they are nearly halfway there.

Although UNSW was the first and only full-fledged foreign university to set foot here, Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said “we should move on.” He said that the lookout will be focused on more committed players who can add value and diversity to the system.

Responding to how the government is assisting in this matter, he said that his ministry was “working with the universities and getting the private players interested to see how all these 150 students, if possible, can have reasonable options for them.”

The Ministry of Manpower too have done their part and given special dispensation to the foreign UNSW staff holding employment passes. They will be allowed to stay in Singapore for up to six months while they search for alternatives.