Tag: NUS

Dedication To Causes Earns Halimah Yacob NUS Honorary Doctorate

She grew up poor, with her mother struggling to put food on the table after her father died when she was eight, and went on to build a storied career in the labour movement, politics, women’s issues and more.

But Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, 61, said it would be harder for someone from a similarly poor background today to do the same. While most people started off “at a very low base” in the past, some families can now afford to give better access to opportunities and resources for their children, she said.

Singapore has to “keep an eye on things like making sure our inequality does not continue to widen” through important measures in education, healthcare and housing. “So our job is to make sure that all children are able to access these kinds of resources so they are not disadvantaged,” she said, adding that she was happy that the Government was now investing “upstream” in early childhood development.

The veteran politician was speaking during an interview with the media last week, ahead of her being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Laws by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in recognition of her distinguished career and service, particularly in the public sectors, where she has championed workers’ welfare, women’s issues, and family issues.

At the NUS Commencement main ceremony on Thursday (July 7), Mdm Halimah became the 26th person to be conferred the honour, which is NUS’ highest form of recognition for outstanding individuals who have had a significant impact on the community and NUS.

Other luminaries who have been similarly honoured include former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, and Mdm Halimah, who holds a Bachelor and Master of Laws from NUS, said she was “deeply honoured and also very humbled” by the conferment.

NUS president, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, said: “An NUS Law alumna, Mdm Halimah has made her mark through her commitment and dedication to the labour movement, and her strong advocacy of women’s rights and the Malay community.”

Mdm Halimah worked for three decades in the labour movement, and became the first Malay woman elected into Parliament in 2001, and later the first female Speaker of Parliament in 2013.

As a woman from a minority background, she has been lauded for breaking glass ceilings in Singapore, but Mdm Halimah said this was not something she deliberately set out to do; her focus was on doing her work well.

“Sometimes we worry too much about disadvantages, hurdles, whether you’re a woman or come from a certain family background. Frankly speaking, my life has not been easy … but I never believed that hurdles and obstacles are problems or disadvantages that should be viewed negatively … they help to spur and motivate me,” said Mdm Halimah, who added that adversities help “develop capabilities, resilience and abilities”.

Nonetheless, she acknowledged the “deep-seated prejudices against women” that still prevail in many places, during her speech at the ceremony yesterday. Noting that women politicians in other countries have been criticised on the basis of their gender, such as a woman who was deemed “emotional” because she was unmarried, Mdm Halimah said: “By all means disagree with her policies if you wish to, but don’t try to diminish her by trivialising her role because she is a woman.” The lesson she had learnt, she added, is “never to let anyone or anything define you as that means ceding your choices to others and limiting yourself”.

She also urged graduates to remember to give back to society.

“Remember that we are where we are today because we have the support of so many people along the way,” she said. “Let’s have the humility to accept that not everything that happened to us was because of how smart or how good we are, but because we had a lot of help.”

This year, 10,395 students graduate from NUS, among them 6,491 who will receive bachelor’s degrees. A total of 23 commencement ceremonies will be held at the NUS University Cultural Centre over eight days, from Thursday till July 14.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 8, 2016
Pushy Parents Could Lead To Children With Depression Or Anxiety: NUS Study

Push your child too hard and he or she could suffer from depression or anxiety, and may even lead to suicide.

This was the finding of a five-year study on primary school children in Singapore by researches from the National University of Singapore (NUS). It involved 7-year-olds from 10 schools and the parent that was more familiar with the child. The study found that children with intrusive parents had a higher tendency to be overly critical of themselves, which got worse over the years.

The children who demonstrated high or increased levels of self-criticalness also reported having elevated depression or anxiety symptoms.

Assistant Professor Ryan Hong, who led the study which was conducted by a team of researchers from the Department of Psychology at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said: “When parents become intrusive in their children’s lives, it may signal to the children that what they do is never good enough. As a result, the child may become afraid of making the slightest mistake and will blame himself or herself for not being ‘perfect’.”

Asst Prof Hong added that over time, such behaviour, known as maladaptive perfectionism – commonly known as the ‘bad’ form of perfectionism – develops and may be detrimental to the child’s well-being as it increases the risk of the child developing symptoms of depression, anxiety and even suicide in very serious cases.

In the first year of the study, Asst Prof Hong and his team assessed parental intrusiveness using a puzzle played by the child, then 7, with the parent accompanying the child. The puzzle had a time limit, and the parent was told that he or she could help the child whenever necessary.

An example of a highly intrusive parental behaviour would be when the parent took over the game to retract a move made by the child. The purpose of this task was to observe whether the parent interfered with the child’s problem-solving attempts, regardless of the child’s actual needs.

Subsequent assessments on the children were carried out at ages eight, nine and 11.

Of the 263 parent-child pairs studied from 2010 to 2014, 60 per cent of the children were classified as high and/or increasing in self-criticalness, while 78 per cent of them demonstrated socially prescribed perfectionism – characterised by the perception of others having unrealistic high expectations of oneself.

59 per cent of the children demonstrated both self-criticalness and socially prescribed perfectionism.

“Our findings indicate that in a society that emphasises academic excellence, which is the situation in Singapore, parents may set unrealistically high expectations on their children. As a result, a sizable segment of children may become fearful of making mistakes,” Asst Prof Hong said.

“Also, because they are supposed to be ‘perfect’, they can become disinclined to admit failures and inadequacies and seek help when needed, further exacerbating their risk for emotional problems,” he added.

The findings of study were published online in the Journal of Personality in March 2016. This study is funded by the Singapore Children’s Society, as well as the Social and Family Research Fund awarded by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Source: TODAY Online

June 22, 2016
Cost Of Singapore University Education To Rise

The cost of a university degree in Singapore is set to rise, according to a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Released yesterday, the study projected that a four-year degree will cost 70.2 per cent of an individual’s average yearly income in 2030, up from 53.1 per cent in 2015.

Since 2010, tuition fees at local universities have gone up every year for most undergraduate courses, mainly due to rising operating costs.

For instance, a local undergraduate entering the National University of Singapore’s faculty of arts and social science this academic year (2016) would pay $8,050 annually, up from $7,950 last year (2015).

Another projection showed that Singapore’s education spending will dip from 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product last year to 2.7 per cent in 2030, largely due to falling birth cohort sizes and a growing population aged over 60 years.

The study, known as the Yidan Prize Forecast, Education to 2030, was released today (May 22) at a press conference held at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong.

It was commissioned by the Yidan Prize Foundation, a global education foundation based in Hong Kong and named after its founder Charles Chen Yidan, a Chinese Internet philanthropist.

The EIU study, conducted from January to March, looked at future trends in education across 25 economies including Hong Kong, the United States, Germany, and Japan.

It focused on five indicators: public expenditure on education, youth unemployment, affordability of education, number of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) fields and the access to Internet in schools.

Historical data was collected from sources such as the Unesco Institute for Statistics, the World Economic Forum, EIU income data, as well as university rankings.

For each of the five metrics, the EIU derived results based on econometric models that would forecast how these trends would continue in the next 14 to 15 years.

For instance, the affordability of a university degree was based on factors such as inflation rates, analyst feedback and research.

According to projections, Singapore’s proportion of Stem graduates in its labour force will grow slightly to 0.4 per cent in 2030, from 0.3 per cent last year.

Mr Chris Clague, editor of the EIU report, said this forecast could be worrying, depending on Singapore’s priorities and if its job market will need Stem skills, as this might mean a skills mismatch.

The report also cited a separate 2015 study by the US National Science Foundation which noted that Stem knowledge and skills are used in more occupations than traditionally thought of, including finance, and sales and marketing.

Such a trend is likely to intensify in the next 15 years and beyond as technology becomes more central to different jobs, it said.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s youth unemployment rate is projected to remain low – from 10.9 per cent last year to 10.8 per cent in 2030.

The Republic is also among the top performers for having Internet access in schools in 2015, coming in joint second with Finland with a 6.4 on a scale of 1 to 7, with the latter being the best.

This improves to 6.5 in 2030, although Hong Kong, Finland and Norway are expected to surpass that level by then.

Yesterday’s event also saw the launch of the Yidan Prize – the largest education award of its kind in terms of monetary value.

There will be two awards each year, – one recognising education research and the other initiatives that promote development in education. Each winner will receive a cash prize of HK$15 million (S$2.67 million) and a fund of HK$15 million based on the principle of impact investment, to be distributed in three instalments over three years to fund research or projects.

Nominations for the prize will open next month (June). Individuals such as teachers, academics, and policymakers, among others, from around the world including Singapore can apply. The first winners will be announced in September next year (17).

Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Mr Chen, who funded the prize, said education is close to his heart as he sees the potential of university education in helping people discover themselves.

“The prize recognises and supports agents of change whose work transforms education in a sustainable way, and encourages innovative approaches to education research and development,” he said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 23, 2016
Malacca Woman Escapes Bond And Enjoy Life In Canada, Singaporean Guarantors Left To Suffer

Admin tolong share about this cheat. For the benefit of the community

This woman frm Malacca study at NUS…after that she want to do her Masters & PhD at MIT in the States. At first a pvt company sponsor her and she got 4 friends from NUS to become guarantor. Total amount to S$700,000. Not small amount. After that NUS took over the sponsorship from the company so she was supposed to return to Sg to serve her bond but she never come back.

At last the friends have to settle with NUS using their own hard-earned money. She and her family don’t want to be responsible and ignore the friends. Her family has business in Malacca. She herself enjoying life in Canada now with her well-paying job with the PhD that her friends are paying for.

This is very unfair to the friends who have their own family and the high cost of living in SIngapore to grapple with.

Government must be very careful to not give scholarships to foreigners who run away in the end. Better give the money to more deserving Singaporean students who may not be as smart, but overcome more problems to get to where they are.

I also know our community sometimes very giving and very soft-hearted…everything also ok. People borrow from loanshark also they don’t mind become guarantor. Then we are the ones who suffer. If we can help in other ways, by all means. But be very careful before you agree to become guarantor. if not become like this.

Seri

[Reader Contribution]

January 27, 2016
NUS Dining Operator, Chartwells, Served Non-Halal Roast Beef At Halal Counter

A dining operator at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was found to have served non-halal roast beef at a halal counter earlier this month.

The beef was served at two dining halls for students from four residential colleges at NUS on Oct 8. Close to 2,400 staff and students, including about 80 Muslims, attended the dinner.

A spokesman for Chartwells, which was appointed the dining operator for both halls in June, told The Straits Times that the lapse “is an isolated incident, resulting from a (chef’s) poor judgment call, for which the chef feels deeply regretful”. The chef had worked at the kitchens on the NUS campus for “a number of years” and has since been suspended, pending the outcome of Chartwells’ full inquiry.

When contacted, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said Chartwells had breached conditions of the halal certification system, and that Muis “will be taking further action”.

Muis said the halal certificate may be suspended or revoked. Anyone found guilty of abusing the Muis halal certificate and logo could also be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to a year, or both.

An NUS spokesman told The Sunday Times that a Muslim student resident had told an academic staff member on Oct 8 that the beef served at a halal counter was prepared in an oven in a non-halal kitchen. Chartwells has halal and non-halal kitchens in NUS. NUS’ Office of Housing Services then immediately alerted Chartwells and apologised to the affected Muslims the next day in an e-mail.

The beef had been taken to the halal kitchens before being served at a halal counter, and the halal kitchens were closed after NUS learnt of the incident. They will reopen only after being re-certified by Muis.

While Chartwells is still serving non-halal food, it stopped serving halal food a day after the incident and was replaced by another halal-certified vendor, Eurest Catering. But some NUS students were uneasy with this arrangement.

Mr Syamil Maulod, believed to be from the University Scholars Programme (USP), posted on Facebook on Oct 10 that Eurest Catering and Chartwells belong to the same parent company, Compass Group.

“Our trust was violated. We do not feel it is right to engage the same (parent) company,” he wrote.

An article on The Cinnamon Roll, an official online publication of the USP, also said last Sunday that “most students, Muslim and non-Muslim, regard (the lapse) a serious breach of trust”.

The NUS spokesman said that getting Eurest to provide halal meals was an “interim measure” and a “third-party, external halal-certified caterer” has been providing halal meals since last Thursday. The caterer is not related to the Compass Group, said NUS.

Compass Group Singapore managing director Andrew Marshall said: “We deeply regret this issue… We continue to work closely with NUS and the student body to rebuild the trust of the community.”

A Cinnamon College resident, who declined to be named, said that NUS should have given an assurance earlier and asked the vendor to provide a public explanation.

“Only Muslims need to observe the dietary standard, but if you think about it, it is about food handling in general,” he said. “People who are vegetarians, or people who have allergies… we expect their needs to be taken care of.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

October 19, 2015