Local universities, not students, decide

PROFESSOR Kishore Mahbubani's misconception that parents prefer an overseas education to a local one for their children should be quelled. ('Don't sniff at our education system', Aug 15).

Yes, we are sending our child to Australia. And no, it was not our preferred choice. The National University of Singapore (NUS) made that choice for us. They have turned away many medical school applicants who possess the criteria to apply.

Since the NUS has such a limited intake for medicine, and the admissions panel cannot afford to interview all qualifying applicants, will they kindly revise the criteria so that students need not apply fruitlessly?

How can you qualify for entry and not be called up for an interview. How are these decisions made?

During her interview with faculty members of an Australian university, our daughter spoke of her hospital job attachments and a rare permission by two renowned surgeons to witness them at work in the operating theatre.

She gained insight and inspiration from doing ward rounds with a paediatric oncologist whose footsteps she wants to follow. She was told by the faculty members that these were the strong points that garnered her one of the 50 places granted, out of more than 500 overseas applicants.

She was not given a chance to address the NUS panel to tell them about the job-shadowing and why it made her all the more determined to become a doctor. It could have made a difference, or maybe not, but we will never know.

In a recent newspaper report, a Singaporean was quoted as saying that one incentive to have children would be if the Government could 'make tertiary education less expensive'. To me, that should be amended to read 'make tertiary education possible'. It does not matter if the fees are $20 or $20,000 if there is a serious lack of places for qualified students to attend local universities.

Every child who qualifies should be given a place in the local universities to pursue his choice of study.

I am grateful for the excellent education system in Singapore, one that is envied and emulated by others. We should provide not only for children aged seven to 18 years old, but all the way until they obtain degrees in their chosen fields.

Not all of us decide against an education in NUS. It is NUS who decides against us.