Influx of Foreign Talent- an Issue Facing Singapore Society Today
An issue facing Singapore society today
By: Cerys Ong Jie Ling
Where do you draw the line between healthy and unhealthy competition. Rather than a raised query, I feel the above would be better categorised, a rebutting statement, an argument and also an intangible grasp of judgement. All of which, directing to the bigger issue of Singapore and her almost overwhelming influx of foreign talents. Instead of trying to elucidate on a whole gamut of consequences, pros and cons regarding the topic, a job which many have done admirably and evocatively well, I would like to take the opportunity to share my personal experience and insights on this very issue. Having been leading a considerably sheltered life, and grateful for the many blessings it has entailed, the influx of foreign talents felt like a distant issue that simply seemed to appear with increasing frequency on the news. It was only till I started secondary three that I began to feel the true relevance of the intense competition ignited by these foreign talents. In my secondary school, we used to term the scholars, predominantly Chinese scholars, as ‘imports’. Every year, the school would ‘import’ twenty scholars into each upper secondary cohort, taking up a rather large percentage of triple science classes, a course which was highly sought after, also looked upon high reverence by many. Thus, their presence naturally denoted a threat to the rest, an elevated incline to the ‘bell-curve’ which compelled stricter moderation, thus resulting in an inherent distaste within Singaporean students towards the introduction of such ‘imports’. Being Chinese, I very much desired to take up a more in-depth study of the language as I moved on to junior college, but the thought was constantly and gradually eroded by opinions of the people around me. I vividly recalled a friend giving me two reasons to dissuade me from taking Chinese which left me dumbfounded. Firstly, regardless of how I try to attain a strong
By: Cerys Ong Jie Ling
Where do you draw the line between healthy and unhealthy competition. Rather than a raised query, I feel the above would be better categorised, a rebutting statement, an argument and also an intangible grasp of judgement. All of which, directing to the bigger issue of Singapore and her almost overwhelming influx of foreign talents. Instead of trying to elucidate on a whole gamut of consequences, pros and cons regarding the topic, a job which many have done admirably and evocatively well, I would like to take the opportunity to share my personal experience and insights on this very issue. Having been leading a considerably sheltered life, and grateful for the many blessings it has entailed, the influx of foreign talents felt like a distant issue that simply seemed to appear with increasing frequency on the news. It was only till I started secondary three that I began to feel the true relevance of the intense competition ignited by these foreign talents. In my secondary school, we used to term the scholars, predominantly Chinese scholars, as ‘imports’. Every year, the school would ‘import’ twenty scholars into each upper secondary cohort, taking up a rather large percentage of triple science classes, a course which was highly sought after, also looked upon high reverence by many. Thus, their presence naturally denoted a threat to the rest, an elevated incline to the ‘bell-curve’ which compelled stricter moderation, thus resulting in an inherent distaste within Singaporean students towards the introduction of such ‘imports’. Being Chinese, I very much desired to take up a more in-depth study of the language as I moved on to junior college, but the thought was constantly and gradually eroded by opinions of the people around me. I vividly recalled a friend giving me two reasons to dissuade me from taking Chinese which left me dumbfounded. Firstly, regardless of how I try to attain a strong