Singapore ranks top in education ranking

Singapore students score top marks in science and mathematics in a survey among 76 countries conducted by the OECD. The survey was on 15 year olds in Mathematics and for 14 year olds in Science in the Programme for International Students Assessment. Hong Kong was second, South Korea third, Japan and Taiwan joint fourth. The next 6^th to 10^th rankings were from Europe. The rest of the 3^rd ‘World Asian countries were ranked far far away.


What does this survey say? Singapore students were the best at age 14 and 15. And this is not the first time the survey was conducted. The results of past years have been consistent. The strange thing is that Singapore students were found quite useless in later years and totally hopeless and unemployable. And Singapore is so desperate that there is no talents in Singapore, wondering what happened to the bright 14 and 15 year olds, that Singapore needs to import huge numbers of foreigners from the unranked 3^rd World countries to help it to grow, and to provide jobs for the useless Singaporeans. Without the foreigners, Singapore will sink, perish from this world.

Can you believe that? Is that true, that top students at age 14 and 15 disappeared into thin air or became duds as they grew up? If not Singapore would be flooded with our own top talents in many fields. What could be the possible explanations for this queer phenomenon?

One explanation is that the survey is inaccurate and unreliable as the correlation did not make sense. Two, Singaporeans are born with a defective gene that self destruct and all Singaporeans will become stupid or daft as they grow older, ie after year 15.

A third possible explanation is that the young of the 3^rd World continue to make rapid progress to leapfrog over Singaporeans in intelligence and ended up as the desirable foreign talents to replace the daft Singaporeans. Can this be it? Must be it.

A fourth and likely explanation is that somehow the 3^rd World graduates have scintillating qualifications and job experience that are better than Singaporeans in all aspects, including street smartness, skills sets, bluffology etc etc that make them so impressive and so desirable as employees, including ability to do wonders. Actually everyone knows by now how easy it is to get all the top grades and top degrees, and CVs and job experience without having to work for it. They could just buy them from the shelf. Or the institutions would sell them directly for a fee. I think this is the likely cause.

Now, how can Singaporeans then do better than these 3^rd World talents? My recommendation is that if you can’t beat them in cheating just join them in their game. With the talents of our students, I am pretty confident that if we want to cheat, allow them to cheat, they would be able to cheat betterer, with distinctions. But you need to have the authority on their side and not on the side of the foreign cheats. This is very important for daft Singaporeans to be successful, to be employable.

What do you think? Our young are top talents but never live past 15 years old?

Singapore an education hub compromised

The Singapore Brand and the education hub Singapore is promoting for quality education would be the first victim if degree mills are going to be widespread and accepted without any disapproval shown by the authority. An education hub is all about quality of education and integrity of the institutions and the degree or diploma awarded. No legitimate students looking for quality education and a reputable degree would sign up with a degree mill or come to Singapore’s education hub if the image of degree mills and fake degrees become the norm here.
 
Degree mills and fake degrees will undermine and compromise the institutions of learning here. They will make a mockery of acquiring a good degree from a reputable institution and render them useless or a waste of time. Why waste time and money when a fake will do to get a good job?
 
How could the existence of good quality education and reputable universities exist side by side with fake degrees and degree mills? How could the authority tolerate the flaunting of fake degrees from degree mills and treating them lightly, like no issue and expect some respect for the graduates of legitimate universities?
 
What is the message? On one hand we are promoting quality education. On the other hand we are turning a blind eye to fake degrees and degree mills. Are the institutions of higher learning going to protest when their students are raped openly by the holders of fake degrees and losing out to them in employment opportunities? Do these institutions see the damage done to the value of their degrees and to their graduates?
 
The issue of fake degrees and degree mills has wider implications and consequences not only to the institutions of learning and the Singapore Brand. It will have negative effects on the education industry and the education hub that we are promoting here, to invite foreign students to study here, to grow an industry and revenue for the country.
 
Let me contribute a little to the degree mills. I am going to register for a few Ph Ds. My wall is quite empty and I need a few decorative pieces on it. Better than expensive paintings. Collecting degree mill Ph Ds can be an interesting and cheap hobby. I swear I will not put them in my resume. It is just a past time, a hobby.
 
PS. The Oregon state had named 6 institutions in Singapore offering unaccredited qualifications:
 
1. Cranston University
2. Templeton University
3. Trident University of Technology
4. Vancouver University Worldwide
5. Westmore University
6. Lee Community College
 
ST reported that Vancouver University Worldwide, which was ordered to be shut by the Canadian government in 2007, had been offering its courses in Singapore for several years.
 
(This is posted in an editorial in TRE)