By MP for Aljunied GRC, Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap
[Delivered in Parliament on 9 September 2014]
I share the view of the Committee that education is very important to Singaporeans, who see it as a key to unlocking the opportunities in life and securing a good future. Over the past weeks and months, a case had been made that applied education can be as viable a pathway as a university education. But in order for this notion to gain any traction among our young minds and worried parents, narrow societal mindsets have to evolve and the objectives as set forth by the committee in the ASPIRE report should be embraced by the public at large.
Members in this House acknowledge that there is a need for a fundamental review of prevailing assumptions in education today. Key of which is the definition of success in Singapore society today and the parameters that operates under this assumption. For years, our society has been socialised to view a university degree as the sole mean to an end: which is career success and economic progression in life. The Committee has taken a step forward in trying to shape and reframe existing attitudes and prevailing mindsets. We should welcome that. The Committee has conceived a different approach to the viewing of success and progress in Singapore society and I believe their painstaking intents, as illustrated in the report through the various recommendations can be realised.
Indeed, the shifting of mindsets is no doubt an uphill and tedious task, one that requires constant calibration and adaption. The Government, through the ASPIRE report has taken the lead in the reframing of mindsets. The direction as set forth should be complemented with efforts on the part of employers and industry players to realign their work processes and re-synchronised their organisational objectives and outcomes.
At the same time, parents and students have respective roles to play in this brave new world. Parents should continue to remain engaged with their children’s future while simultaneously providing adequate space for them to pursue their own interests and aspirations. I see the role of a parent as a cheerleader rather than a director. The student himself is the director of his hopes and dreams in life. As a society, we should encourage our young minds to strive for the best with the skills they have been equipped with. Thus, parents play a fine balancing act between expressing concern for their children’s future and providing them with the autonomy to empower themselves at critical decision making points in their academic and career junctures.
For the student to better empower himself and exercise the confidence invested in him by his parent, he needs to actively inform himself with the academic and career information provided to him and immerse himself in the world beyond our shores. On this note, I like to encourage students to step out from their comfort zones, away from the paternal culture prevalent in our education system today. It is hoped that without the shackles of a narrow societal mindset in which one’s value and contribution is judged solely based on university paper qualifications, the student can better express himself with greater gumption, creativity and entrepreneurial tenacity, and in so doing strive towards a future that he envisions for himself and his loved ones. To this end I hope that in the not too distant future, applied education can be as rewarding and fulfilling as a university degree. Both would be recognised, appreciated and encouraged by members in our society.
In this next section, I will be touching on some of the recommendations that have been put forth in the report and provide some of my views and inputs.
Recommendation 1: Strengthen Education and Career Guide (ECG) in Schools, Polytechnics and ITE
As a member of this House, I support the recommendation to strengthen and coordinate ECG efforts as part of an integrated national ECG framework, in particular the brand of “end-to-end ECG” as laid out in para 2.7 of the report. Making a well-informed choice is paramount. A comprehensive and continuous education and career guide in schools and institutions can have a rewarding outcome, especially considering that decisions on education options and career opportunities can be a rather complex and risky process. On this, I like to suggest that the Government include the administering of psychometric tests as part of the initiatives in strengthening the ECG framework. Conducting psychometric test(s) such as D.I.S.C will enable students to develop a better understanding of their attributes, the special qualities that they possess, and a honest reflection of their own weaknesses. An in-depth awareness of one’s self will enable him to better tailor his education with his career decisions. Psychometric tests as part of the national ECG framework would certainly be helpful for the student in the long term.
Additionally, I hope that a system can be set in place to encourage the active involvement of parents in the planning of their child’s education progression and subsequent career prospects. Invitations to parents to attend ECG sessions at the secondary school level should be seriously considered. In the report, it was stated that 62% and 49% of polytechnic and ITE students surveyed cited parents as one of their top three influences in choosing their course of study. Clearly, parents have a disproportionate influence on their child’s mindset and thought processes. Thus, they need to be well-equipped to provide the necessary advice and opinions to their own child. In doing so, it would also provide parents with a realistic and rational perspective to their child’s academic potential and their accompanying career opportunities.
Recommendation 6: Provide more development and support programmes for students
As part of efforts to strengthen education and training in polytechnics and ITEs, it was highlighted under para 3.22 that there is a need for polytechnics and ITEs to provide more development and support programmes to help every student succeed, no matter what his or her circumstances may be. On this, I like to suggest that the Government consider strengthening the links and partnership between the Family Service Centres (FSCs) and the student affairs centre(s) and counseling and wellness centres in the Polytechnics and ITEs. This would not only ensure prompt and ready assistance, financial or otherwise whenever needed, but it would also allow cases to be flagged earlier and symptoms better addressed. Such an arrangement would be beneficial to enhancing the socio-emotional competencies of the students as they navigate the consequences of their decisions.
In conclusion, the ASPIRE report crafts a worthy vision, difficult though it may be for the type of society Singapore should aspire to as we enter the fiftieth year of our nation’s independence. A university education remains important and for students who are able academically, no efforts should be spared to ensure that they receive a world-class university education. However, there is also a need for Singapore and Singaporeans to deepen our zeal to enhance technical competences and uphold alternative pathways to success. In the years ahead of us, the composition and profiles of parliamentarians in this House can in fact serve as a good litmus test as to how much our society has come in recognising the value of applied education vis-à-vis a university degree. I believe to have prime ministers, chiefs in the Singapore armed forces, permanent secretaries and heads of the civil service from the Polytechnic/ITE route is not only a worthy aspiration but it can be a practical reality in the not too distant future. In this regard, I hope that this national effort to improve the prospects of polytechnic and ITE graduates can in the longer term expand and enrich the mindsets of our political leaders and allow this to translate into greater diversity in our leaders’ perspective on talent and their recognition of success in our political discourse and the employment of talents in our civil service. Politics and Singapore can only benefit from the paradigm shift that this report attempts to encourage in our education system.
[Speech In Malay]
Saya setuju dengan pandangan Jawatankuasa ASPIRE bahawa pendidikan adalah sangat penting kepada masyarakat Singapura, dimana pendidikan adalah kunci untuk membuka peluang-peluang dalam kehidupan dan menjamin masa depan yang baik dan cerah. Baru-baru ini perbincangan serta usaha telah diadakan bagi menimbulkan kesedaran bahawa kejayaan dalam kehidupan tidak semestinya hanya boleh diraih dengan memiliki pendidikan universiti, malah ‘applied education’ atau pendidikan menerusi Politeknik dan ITE juga boleh membuka peluang meraih kejayaan yang serupa. Ini adalah objektif yang ingin direalisasikan oleh pemerintah melalui 10 rekomendasi atau saranan yang terdapat dalam laporan jawatankuasa semakan ASPIRE.
Perubahan yang ingin dicapai menerusi laporan ASPIRE ini adalah untuk memberi lebih pengiktirafan serta menyediakan kemajuan dan kejayaan dalam kerjaya kepada graduan-graduan Politeknik dan Institut Pendidikan Teknikal (ITE). Ini adalah satu langkah yang baik dan harus diberi sokongan dan memerlukan penglibatan setiap pihak yang harus memainkan peranan masing-masing untuk mencapai matlamat ini.
Masyarakat Singapura telah sekian lama diterapkan dengan paradigma atau minda bahawa pendidikan universiti adalah satu-satu cara untuk mengecapi kejayaan dan kemajuan dalam kerjaya dan kehidupan. Perubahan minda harus dilaksanakan jika kita ingin mengecapi matlamat yang telah dilakarkan oleh ASPIRE. Pemerintah telah mengorak langkah pertama dalam mengadakan perubahan minda melalui usaha ASPIRE ini dan adalah wajar bagi setiap kita mengambil langkah-langkah seterusnya untuk memberi sokongan agar kita sebagai sebuah masyarakat dapat berganding bahu dalam usaha ini dan mengecapi bersama matlamat untuk memberi lebih pengiktirafan serta menyediakan kemajuan dan kejayaan dalam kerjaya kepada graduan-graduan Politeknik dan Institut Pendidikan Teknikal (ITE).
Dalam ucapan Inggeris saya sebentar tadi, saya telah menyentuh dan memberi pandangan tentang dua saranan yang telah diketengahkan oleh Jawatankuasa ASPIRE. Di sini, saya ingin menyentuh dua lagi saranan yang terdapat dalam laporan ASPIRE ini.
Yang pertama adalah tentang penambahan peluang bagi graduan Nitec untuk melanjutkan pelajaran mereka ke peringkat Higher Nitec. Langkah yang akan diambil ini adalah sesuatu yang positif terutama sekali bagi masyarakat Melayu kerana kita mempunyai bilangan pelajar-yang agak besar yang menuntut dalam kursus-kursus Nitec di ITE. Saya berharap penuntut-penuntut Melayu akan dapat memanfaatkan peluang yang akan diadakan ini. Laluan ini bukan sahaja akan mempertingkatkan kemahiran dan ilmu malah ia juga akan membuka peluang yang lebih baik bagi pelajar-pelajar untuk melanjutkan pengajian mereka ke peringkat politeknik.
Satu lagi saranan yang saya ingin mengulas adalah saranan yang menganjurkan kerjasama antara politeknik dan ITE dengan Kementerian Pertahanan dan Kementerian Ehwal Dalam Negeri. Fokus kerjasama ini adalah untuk membolehkan para graduan politeknik dan ITE diberi tugasan atau vokasi yang berkaitan dengan bidangan pengajian atau kursus yang dituntut, semasa mereka menjalani perkhidmatan negara. Ini bertujuan agar graduan-graduan ini bukan sahaja dapat mengekalkan kemahiran atau ilmu yang diperolehi, pada masa yang sama akan dapat meraih pengalaman dan ilmu pratikal yang relevan dengan bidang pengajian mereka. Saranan untuk memberi pengiktirafan atau acreditation juga adalah satu inisiatif yang baik. Usaha ini adalah seumpama ungkapan ‘sambil menyelam minum air’ dimana beberapa manfaat dapat diraih semasa menjalani perkhidmatan Negara. Harapan saya adalah agar saranan ini dapat di laksanakan dengan secara baik dan adil agar setiap graduan Politeknik dan ITE diberi peluang yang sama rata tidak mengira bangsa dan agama terutama sekali kesempatan untuk berkhidmat dalam angkatan tentera udara dan laut republik Singapura.