The need for scholars

An article by me, published in Sep 2005 in the Today Newspaper's Voice section.

"40 years since independence may be a good time for us to relook at some of the systems that we have in place, systems which we implemented in the past that may no longer be relevant today. The scholarship system was introduced in the past to groom potential leaders. Promising youths are selected and sent overseas for an education, with hopes that exposure to a foreign country will enable them to bring back ideas to better Singapore. Without the ideas brought back by these scholars, Singapore would not be where she is today.

But should an organisation look at a youth of 18 years, with no prior working experience in the organisation, and decide whether he or she is going to be future leader of the organisation? Or would it be better to wait and track his or her performance over a few years before deciding
to groom these potential leaders for higher leadership posts? In other words, do we want to give out scholarships to 18-year-olds for them to complete their undergraduate studies overseas, or do we give the scholarships to 28-year-olds for them to pursue further studies overseas?

Some may say that giving scholarships to 18-year-olds gives potential leaders coming from a less privileged background a chance for undergraduate studies. I agree. We can change this to a sponsorship scheme, in which organisations can continue to sponsor those with potential for undergraduate studies at our local universities. I am sure our local universities are as good as universities overseas. After they complete their studies and work in the organisation, if they continue to show potential, we can then send them off for further studies overseas. Their experience in the organisation will also enable them to know what are the relevant ideas that they can bring back to Singapore. There will be less people wanting to break their bonds, since they were chosen to go overseas because they have shown their potential and their commitment
to the organisation. Our scholars would also be of sound character and possess the necessary qualities for higher leadership, since they would be chosen based on assessments given by superiors who have worked with them before. I would think this is a better investment of taxpayers' money.

40 years of nation building has passed. Is it not time now to look at existing systems and review their relevancy in the next 40 years ahead?"