<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>S'porean scholarship holder speaks out about foreigners
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr He Yanying's letter, 'Give scholarships to foreigners with care', published last Friday. It should be taken seriously by the scholarship committee.
It's time the authorities concerned realise that investing in our local-born is wiser than betting on foreigners who have already been given good opportunities to study in Singapore, with some even given scholarships or grants up to their A levels.
Surely, we have enough native talent to pick for overseas scholarships. They number 200 to 300 each year scoring multiple distinctions in their A levels.
My younger son with six A level distinctions did not have a scholarship and he studied at the local university.
I advised him to reject a Singapore Armed Forces local scholarship which carried a nine to 12 year bond. Without the scholarship, he only had to serve the requisite 21/2 years of National Service (NS).
Foreigners may have spent just a few years in Singapore schools and later acquired Singapore citizenships to enable them to qualify for scholarships to prestigious universities abroad. They may or may not have served NS.
Once they have achieved their scholastic aims overseas with the help of a Singapore scholarship, there is nothing to stop them from staying abroad to enjoy the benefits of their achievements.
Their spirits are not in Singapore because they were not born here in the first place. The bond only serves to retain them temporarily, during which they may be planning a career elsewhere and trying to break the bond.
This is not to say that all native Singaporeans who venture abroad to study will return home. Some don't. But the difference is that they are on 'parental scholarships'' and it's up to their parents to encourage their children to stay and return.
If I were a foreigner who has obtained Singapore citizenship for the purpose of acquiring an overseas scholarship, there is nothing to stop me from staying overseas to pursue my interests and career to my greatest satisfaction.
Breaking the Singapore bond is no big deal when the opportunity arises. For foreigners who return to serve the bond, there is no guarantee that they will stay to serve the interests of Singapore when their bond expires. They will go where their heart is - either in their newfound land or back to where they came from, be it China, India, or anywhere else in Asia.
I was an overseas scholarship holder myself, many years ago, but I came back to serve Singapore, mainly because I was born here and my family was here.
This is where my home is and where my heart belongs.
When I finished my Bachelor's degree in Britain, I obtained a place to pursue a PhD at a prestigious British university. But I did not take it any further as Oxbridge would not provide financial assistance or grants to foreign students, unlike the generosity we find in Singapore for foreigners.
Getting a place at either of these two great universities was already an achievement for a foreign student; trying to get a scholarship from them was almost impossible. Hou Wei Chang
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr He Yanying's letter, 'Give scholarships to foreigners with care', published last Friday. It should be taken seriously by the scholarship committee.
It's time the authorities concerned realise that investing in our local-born is wiser than betting on foreigners who have already been given good opportunities to study in Singapore, with some even given scholarships or grants up to their A levels.
Surely, we have enough native talent to pick for overseas scholarships. They number 200 to 300 each year scoring multiple distinctions in their A levels.
My younger son with six A level distinctions did not have a scholarship and he studied at the local university.
I advised him to reject a Singapore Armed Forces local scholarship which carried a nine to 12 year bond. Without the scholarship, he only had to serve the requisite 21/2 years of National Service (NS).
Foreigners may have spent just a few years in Singapore schools and later acquired Singapore citizenships to enable them to qualify for scholarships to prestigious universities abroad. They may or may not have served NS.
Once they have achieved their scholastic aims overseas with the help of a Singapore scholarship, there is nothing to stop them from staying abroad to enjoy the benefits of their achievements.
Their spirits are not in Singapore because they were not born here in the first place. The bond only serves to retain them temporarily, during which they may be planning a career elsewhere and trying to break the bond.
This is not to say that all native Singaporeans who venture abroad to study will return home. Some don't. But the difference is that they are on 'parental scholarships'' and it's up to their parents to encourage their children to stay and return.
If I were a foreigner who has obtained Singapore citizenship for the purpose of acquiring an overseas scholarship, there is nothing to stop me from staying overseas to pursue my interests and career to my greatest satisfaction.
Breaking the Singapore bond is no big deal when the opportunity arises. For foreigners who return to serve the bond, there is no guarantee that they will stay to serve the interests of Singapore when their bond expires. They will go where their heart is - either in their newfound land or back to where they came from, be it China, India, or anywhere else in Asia.
I was an overseas scholarship holder myself, many years ago, but I came back to serve Singapore, mainly because I was born here and my family was here.
This is where my home is and where my heart belongs.
When I finished my Bachelor's degree in Britain, I obtained a place to pursue a PhD at a prestigious British university. But I did not take it any further as Oxbridge would not provide financial assistance or grants to foreign students, unlike the generosity we find in Singapore for foreigners.
Getting a place at either of these two great universities was already an achievement for a foreign student; trying to get a scholarship from them was almost impossible. Hou Wei Chang
