As Singapore Globalizes Its Schools, Locals Worry新加坡為外國留學生髮愁

As Singapore Globalizes Its Schools, Locals Worry發布時間：2012-09-12文章出自：紐約時報原文鏈接：點擊查看

「This is how our society treats us and our parents who pay taxes, 」 read a post this year on The Thinking Fish Tank, a Singapore-based blog. 「They』d rather give scholarships to others than their own.」

The writer, who identifies herself as G.T. and an engineering student at the National University of Singapore , is not the only one complaining online that international students, some of whom receive scholarships, are squeezing Singaporeans out of public universities.

Universities around the world have made attracting international students a fundamental goal. And Singapore has been successful in its pursuit, with foreigners representing 18 percent of the undergraduate student population.

But the globalization of the country』s higher education sector has some Singaporeans concerned that bringing in more international students may have come at a cost to citizens, despite a rise in the number of Singaporean students attending universities in recent years.

A government committee is investigating how Singapore can expand access to Singaporeans and is expected to submit its recommendations by the end of the year.

About 27 percent of Singaporean students who finish high school enter public universities, a figure expected to increase to 30 percent by 2015. Education commentators say it is a rate similar to that in most advanced economies.

But Yeow-Tong Chia, a lecturer at the faculty of education and social work at the University of Sydney, said there was great demand for university education in Singapore, illustrated by the strong growth of the private education sector.

「It』s quite obvious that there』s a demand and partly because of the culture of East Asia, the Confucian culture of this reverence for education — the thinking that having a higher education will provide you with a better life, 」 Mr. Chia, a Singapore native, said by telephone.

The government has capped the number of international students at 20 percent of the undergraduate intake for the past decade. In 2011, they made up 18 percent, with most coming from China, India and other Southeast Asian countries, according to the Ministry of Education.

The ministry said in a statement that it would maintain current levels 「to facilitate better integration between Singaporeans and international students.」

Mr. Chia said that criticism about the number of foreign students — which reflects broader concerns about the government』s bringing in foreign talent to bolster the work force and economic growth — had been growing since the 1990s, but that concerns became more obvious as people turned to the Web to air their opinions.

Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged the issue in his National Day speech last year, stating that 「one unhappiness is the feeling that maybe foreign students have taken the place of locals in the universities.」 He emphasized that places for foreign students had not come at the expense of Singapore citizens, as university places for local students had actually increased.

Lawrence Wong, chairman of the Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015, which is investigating options for expanding the sector, said that as the country』s economy grew, more Singaporeans with high-level skills would be needed.

「We also want to meet the strong aspirations among young Singaporeans for a degree education, 」 Mr. Wong, who is also the minister of state for education, said in a statement. 「The committee is looking at ways to expand the university sector in Singapore to cater to a wider spectrum of students, while maintaining quality and standards.」

Mr. Wong said that while Singapore』s public universities were largely research-intensive, other countries had a more diverse mix of research institutions and applied universities that were more 「practice-oriented.」

「The committee believes there is scope to develop a new university model in Singapore — one that is teaching-focused and practice-oriented, with close industry ties, 」 he said.

The committee is also studying how to involve the private sector.

Mr. Chia, the University of Sydney lecturer, said that the government should provide more places for Singaporean students but that 「the question is how much more.」 He said the government needed to consider whether graduates would be able to find jobs.

「It』s kind of a balance that the government has to do but, having said that, there』s also another imperative of university education that is not just for economics but for education itself, 」 Mr. Chia said. 「What higher education is all about is also the training of the mind. That is also important.」

新加坡為外國留學生髮愁

發布時間：2012-09-12

文章出自：紐約時報

原文鏈接：點擊查看

「我們社會就是這樣對待我們，還有我們納稅的父母的，」在新加坡一個叫做「思維的魚缸」(The Thinking Fish Tank)的博客網站上，今年貼出了這樣一個帖子。「他們寧可給外國人獎學金，也不給本國人。」

博主自稱G.T.，為新加坡國立大學(National University of Singapore)工程系學生。她不是唯一一個在網上抱怨國際學生的，他們認為留學生正在將新加坡本地學生擠出公立大學，其中部分留學生還獲得了獎學金。

世界各地的大學都把吸引國際學生當成基本目標。新加坡在這一方面做得很成功，留學生已經佔到本科生的18%。

但是，高等教育部門的全球化讓一些新加坡人開始擔心吸納更多的留學生可能會影響當地人上大學的機會，儘管近幾年新加坡學生上大學的人數有所增加。

一個政府委員會正在調查如何讓更多的新加坡本地人上大學，預計今年年底能夠提交建議。

新加坡27%左右的高中畢業生能進入公立大學學習，預計在2015年這個數字會增加到30%。教育評論人士認為這個比例和大多數發達國家的不相上下。

但是，悉尼大學(University of Sydney)教育與社會工作系講師謝耀東（Yeow-Tong Chia，音譯）說，新加坡大學教育的需求是巨大的，私立教育部門的強勁增長就是明證。

「需求是非常明顯的，部分原因在於東亞文化——儒家文化尊重教育，認為受過高等教育能帶來更美好的生活，」謝耀東是土生土長的新加坡人，他在電話里說。

過去十年，新加坡政府將本科生中國際學生的比例限制在20%。根據該國教育部的統計數字，2011年，國際學生佔到了本科生人數的18%，其中大多數來自中國、印度還有其他東南亞國家。

新加坡教育部在一份聲明中說，國際學生人數將保持在現有水平，其目的是「為了促進新加坡和外國學生更好地融合在一起」。

謝耀東說對外國學生人數的批評從上世紀90年代就開始越來越多，這反映了人們對政府引進外國人才來充實本國勞動力和促進經濟增長的普遍擔心，隨著人們轉向互聯網來發表意見，這種顧慮變得越來越明顯。

連新加坡總理李顯龍(Lee Hsien Loong)都在去年國慶節的講話中談到了這一問題，他說：「一件讓人不愉快的事情是，人們感覺外國學生可能搶佔了本地學生上大學的名額。」他重點指出外國學生的到來並沒有以犧牲新加坡本地人為代價，因為實際上本國學生上大學的名額是在不斷增加的。

「2015年後升大學渠道委員會」(the Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015)主席黃循財(Lawrence Wong)說隨著國家經濟增長，將需要更多的具有高水平才能的新加坡人。該委員會正在調查人們對擴充高等教育的意見。

「我們也想滿足年輕的新加坡人獲得學位教育的強烈願望，」 兼任新加坡教育部高級政務部長的黃循財在一份聲明中說。他還說：「委員會正在想辦法擴大新加坡的大學教育，以便吸收更廣範圍的學生，同時保持較高的質量和標準。」

黃循財說新加坡的公立大學很大程度上是研究型大學，而其他國家的大學更多樣化，研究機構和「注重實踐」的應用型大學是結合在一起的。

「委員會相信，在新加坡發展一種新的大學模式是有空間的，我們在考慮發展另一種以教學、實踐、與工業界緊密合作來設計課程的新大學模式。」他說。

該委員會也在研究如何讓私立學校參與進來。

悉尼大學講師謝先生說，政府應該為新加坡本地學生提供更多的入學名額，但是「問題是增加多少。」他說政府需要考慮大學畢業生是否能夠找到工作。

「這是政府需要保持的一種平衡，但是，我也曾經說過，大學教育不僅僅是為了經濟發展，它對於教育本身也是必不可少的。」謝先生說：「高等教育還包括思維訓練，那也是非常重要的。」

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