The negatives of obsession of University ranking in Singapore

By Crispin Sng


To begin with , it is devoid of doubt that the consistently extremely high ranking of NUS inside the world-wide university education arena is really a powerful testament of the weight of the institution.

The speedy advancement of the university can even be noticed from casual observation without the need of the in-depth analysis by THE. With regards to research, the NUS medical school has forged alliance with the Duke Medical School, 1 of the best in the United states of america. The joint program motivates partnership in research as well as student exchange.

When it comes to student development, the University Scholars Program as well as the U-town residential program have increased much variety into students' school life, ushering in western side education style inside a liberal arts atmosphere.

Thus, it is far from surprising to notice the position of NUS climb quick, in conjunction with its standing within Singapore and also the globe, a brand that may be critical to attract the very best pupils and teachers, whose inflow results in a virtuous cycle of the school's improvement.

Nonetheless, you'll find possible problems with regard to the preoccupation with ranking by college along with the general local community as a whole. The existing approach in examining college is far from ideal and regularly open to critiques. Weight given to distinct aspects, no matter how meticulously taken into consideration, is essentially arbitrary.

One particular significant area of question lies with the balance involving research and teaching. A professor is required to dedicate time in teaching undergrads and doing research for the purpose of publications. The former is considered as being the principal goal of building a college although the latter is generally considered as a better criterion while looking for the ranking of a college.

If a lot of emphasis is on how many quality papers a university has published inside the first-tier global journals, for instance, this type of evaluation bias might be translated into demand for professors to publish.

A number of universities, like Hong Kong University, have even set up a minimal quota on the quantity of papers to be published every thing. Even in the absence of an explicit quota, as in the instance of NUS, implicit pressure of linking publication to tenure review is adequate to nail the idea of 'publish or perish' in the heads of academicians.

Cost in putting more time in research is generally less time or attention allocated to undergraduate educating. This really is generally noticed in deficit of enthusiasm coming from academics as well as very poor availability of tutors who appear usually pre-occupied.

At the end of the day, what will society stand to reap if higher university standing primarily reflects greater quality research that's primarily irrelevant to students?

In addition, some critical elements of higher education could be underrepresented in appraisal of colleges. Inspite of the high position of NUS, one particular matter stays unresolved by the college: academic freedom or autonomy. University as a notion symbolizes liberty of thinking and expression that are vehicle of intellectual advancement of society.

However, NUS and many other Asian universities embarrassingly do not achieve outstanding credit for that aspect. In actual fact, NUS president, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan stated right after the release of ranking that NUS continued progress is a outcome of consistent assistance from the Singapore government. This is already indicative on the intimate tie between NUS and the government. The truth is, the majority of the school financing originates from the government.

The compromise in academic autonomy is best noticed within the political science division of NUS that has come under critique for its very clear deficit of critical voices. The division has been described as "docile", not willing to assert itself as an third party voice inside the political discourse.

In contrast, largest percentage of the honorable educational facilities overseas are privately owned and they have substantially higher freedom of intellectual inquiry that consequently benefits the whole community.

In fact, the establishment of Yale-NUS Liberal Arts College some years ago caused substantially discontentment around the move in the Yale community that views the Singapore political environment as not really favorable forliberal arts learning.

It's suffice to say that in addition to improving university ranking, the institution also requires to meet its social expectation by locating a fine line between having government backing and remaining politically impartial.

Maybe before it makes THE pleased , it ought to satisfy Singapore students, social observers and educators 1st, who're the genuine stakeholders of the education within the nation.




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