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She went into NIE, did the two-year program, got the diploma, and then went on to do the four-year program to get the full degree. Mind you, it isn't all sunsh

She went into NIE, did the two-year program, got the diploma, and then went on to do the four-year program to get the full degree. Mind you, it isn't all sunshine and roses, since in return for the government paying for basically everything, she has to work more than a few years in the MOE public school system. Although they do get paid, you make much more money as a private tutor with credentials so people fresh from the degree program are always eager to get on out. Regarding my Uncle, this is what he told me when I asked at the last CNY, but I can accept if he was off by a few thousand.

ValentineC 9y ago
> Mind you, it isn't all sunshine and roses, since in return for the government paying for basically everything, she has to work more than a few years in the MOE public school system. It should be noted that such "full-ride" scholarships are generally reserved for the top students in a cohort (scoring at least, I believe, AAB at A Level), and are not available to all citizens (as compared to EU citizens who enjoy heavily-subsidised tuition and student loans). On the other hand, Singapore has a tuition grant available for all international students who are admitted into a public university [1], with the stipulation that they work for a Singapore company for at least three years after they graduate. (This is aimed at trying to get "smart" people to settle down in Singapore.) Singapore's system heavily favours strong academic potential (the government's idea of "meritocracy" — which is starting to show its cracks [2]) over egalitarianism. There are sadly no "student loan" schemes to allow for independent living. [1] https://tgonline.moe.gov.sg/tgis/normal/studentViewTuitionGrantSubsidyInfo.action https://tgonline.moe.gov.sg/tgis/normal/studentViewTuitionGr... [2] https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/09/28/dr-chee-soon-juan-the-pap-failing-elitist-model/ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/09/28/dr-chee-soon-jua...
- hitekker 9y ago
  > It should be noted that such "full-ride" scholarships are generally reserved for the top students in a cohort (scoring at least, I believe, AAB at A Level), and are not available to all citizens (as compared to EU citizens who enjoy heavily-subsidised tuition and student loans). Makes sense. She was going to go A-Levels after Higher Chinese but her illness threw her off, so she later went to Poly, and then did Primary School prepatory teaching, before going to NIE. > This is aimed at trying to get "smart" people to settle down in Singapore. I don't know if the bond is working. My Indian Classmates at NTU wanted to go straight to Silicon Valley, but got stuck at (what they called) the IBM and Amazon sweatshops. They're not happy about it. > There are sadly no "student loan" schemes to allow for independent living. The lottery selection on campus definitely makes it worse. My roommate at the time paid one of the lucky ones under the table for a slot but he was somehow exposed and had to move out halfway through the semester. Sad, but I got a two-bed room in the hostel all to myself!
  - lzy 9y ago
    > I don't know if the bond is working. My Indian Classmates at NTU wanted to go straight to Silicon Valley, but got stuck at (what they called) the IBM and Amazon sweatshops. They're not happy about it. If they were planning to go straight to SV, perhaps they should have given more thought before accepting the tuition grant offered by Singapore?
- smallnamespace 9y ago
  It's a bit funny that meritocracy has such generally positive connotations today, even though the term was first used and then mercilessly satirized in The Rise of the Meritocracy [1]. When different people want different things, who do we decide who is in charge? Should it be based on family and birth, like monarchy and aristocracy? Should it be based on who can seize power by force? What about ethnic and national identity? Or should we have a competitive testing system and metrics that select out an elite? Or maybe we should all vote on a person? Or why even have a person at all who's in a charge? Maybe we should all collectively vote for every decision without any intermediaries? Or maybe we just give an equal portion of resources to every person, and let them individually decide what to do with it. None of these systems are perfect. They all have deficiencies and can be gamed one way or another. Question is which one is the best for the particular situation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy
  - abritinthebay 9y ago
    Outside of certain tech and alt-right circles it certainly does not have a positive connotation
    - mandijut 9y ago
      Unfortunately, it also has a positive connotation in certain finance circles.
      - smallnamespace 9y ago
        Why is it unfortunate? Because of what meritocracy attempts or purports to do (give power and status to those who deserve it, e.g. because they did a good job in the past), or because of imperfections in practice?
- vostok 9y ago
  I don't know how it is in Singapore, but in general there are universities that require AAA or even higher.

ValentineC 9y ago

> Mind you, it isn't all sunshine and roses, since in return for the government paying for basically everything, she has to work more than a few years in the MOE public school system. It should be noted that such "full-ride" scholarships are generally reserved for the top students in a cohort (scoring at least, I believe, AAB at A Level), and are not available to all citizens (as compared to EU citizens who enjoy heavily-subsidised tuition and student loans). On the other hand, Singapore has a tuition grant available for all international students who are admitted into a public university [1], with the stipulation that they work for a Singapore company for at least three years after they graduate. (This is aimed at trying to get "smart" people to settle down in Singapore.) Singapore's system heavily favours strong academic potential (the government's idea of "meritocracy" — which is starting to show its cracks [2]) over egalitarianism. There are sadly no "student loan" schemes to allow for independent living. [1] https://tgonline.moe.gov.sg/tgis/normal/studentViewTuitionGrantSubsidyInfo.action https://tgonline.moe.gov.sg/tgis/normal/studentViewTuitionGr... [2] https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/09/28/dr-chee-soon-juan-the-pap-failing-elitist-model/ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/09/28/dr-chee-soon-jua...

hitekker 9y ago
> It should be noted that such "full-ride" scholarships are generally reserved for the top students in a cohort (scoring at least, I believe, AAB at A Level), and are not available to all citizens (as compared to EU citizens who enjoy heavily-subsidised tuition and student loans). Makes sense. She was going to go A-Levels after Higher Chinese but her illness threw her off, so she later went to Poly, and then did Primary School prepatory teaching, before going to NIE. > This is aimed at trying to get "smart" people to settle down in Singapore. I don't know if the bond is working. My Indian Classmates at NTU wanted to go straight to Silicon Valley, but got stuck at (what they called) the IBM and Amazon sweatshops. They're not happy about it. > There are sadly no "student loan" schemes to allow for independent living. The lottery selection on campus definitely makes it worse. My roommate at the time paid one of the lucky ones under the table for a slot but he was somehow exposed and had to move out halfway through the semester. Sad, but I got a two-bed room in the hostel all to myself!
- lzy 9y ago
  > I don't know if the bond is working. My Indian Classmates at NTU wanted to go straight to Silicon Valley, but got stuck at (what they called) the IBM and Amazon sweatshops. They're not happy about it. If they were planning to go straight to SV, perhaps they should have given more thought before accepting the tuition grant offered by Singapore?
smallnamespace 9y ago
It's a bit funny that meritocracy has such generally positive connotations today, even though the term was first used and then mercilessly satirized in The Rise of the Meritocracy [1]. When different people want different things, who do we decide who is in charge? Should it be based on family and birth, like monarchy and aristocracy? Should it be based on who can seize power by force? What about ethnic and national identity? Or should we have a competitive testing system and metrics that select out an elite? Or maybe we should all vote on a person? Or why even have a person at all who's in a charge? Maybe we should all collectively vote for every decision without any intermediaries? Or maybe we just give an equal portion of resources to every person, and let them individually decide what to do with it. None of these systems are perfect. They all have deficiencies and can be gamed one way or another. Question is which one is the best for the particular situation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy
- abritinthebay 9y ago
  Outside of certain tech and alt-right circles it certainly does not have a positive connotation
  - mandijut 9y ago
    Unfortunately, it also has a positive connotation in certain finance circles.
    - smallnamespace 9y ago
      Why is it unfortunate? Because of what meritocracy attempts or purports to do (give power and status to those who deserve it, e.g. because they did a good job in the past), or because of imperfections in practice?
vostok 9y ago
I don't know how it is in Singapore, but in general there are universities that require AAA or even higher.