The UNSWAsia issue

Written May 30, 2007 in Personal

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(image copyright of Singapore Press Holdings)

A lot has been said about this over the last week, with the sudden withdrawal of UNSWAsia.

As privatisation and streamlining of tertiary education services, more such institutions are being headed by non-academics and people who are well versed in business. Or so called the art of running a business. Imperial College London for one, as a Rector who led Pfizer before coming over. Here he streamlined the running of the college, and with it many say, the loss of the college’s tradition and visions. In the UNSW, the change in leadership to someone who counted the value of education in terms of cents and dollars led to the demise of a vision of a global educational institution.

Who is to determine what the cost of education is? Who is to determine the future of the institutions who educate the leaders of the future? If we continue to allow the value of good global education to be undermined by the dollar-and-cents fellow, someone who only looks at the tangible gains, will there ever be excellence in education? Education is more about dollars and cents, more than the patents and research money. It’s about making the future. Education should be sustainable, but never profit-making.

I regret that UNSW pulled out of Singapore. I regret even more so the harm done to the education of people who have placed trust in a (ex)highly regarded institution. I regret that the UNSW name was blemished in not keeping the promise of education to it’s students in the name of money.

Tags: Personal