STS : We'll break bonds, say 11 scholarship holders
Yap Yok Foo
9th July 2000
We'll break bonds, say 11 scholarship holders
They want to advance their careers in their prime years
By JOSEPHINE CHEW
AT LEAST 25 undergraduates awarded overseas scholarships recently say
they do not see a problem in breaking their six-year scholarship
bonds.
And 11 of the 25, or more than a third of the 30 scholarship holders
interviewed, admit that they do not intend to serve out the six years.
Of the 11 who say they will not serve the full six years, 10 say they
will spend no more than two or three years in service before seeking
greener pastures.
The 11th says that she will serve three to four years of her bond.
These straight A students are contemplating how to break their bonds,
whether to have their parents or a new employer to buy them out.
They reason that they have to move around to advance their careers.
Staying long in the same place during their prime years will be
detrimental to their prospects of getting ahead, they argue,
especially in the fast-moving new economy.
But isn't this immoral? No way, they say. Not even though they intend
to break the bond.
Not even if it means that, by accepting the scholarships, they would
have deprived others of the opportunity.
It is a ""free-for-all market'' and those who want a scholarship have
to get the academic results required, says a 20-year-old, awarded a
scholarship by a Government-linked company.
Says an ambitious 21-year-old who will study economics at an Ivy
League university in the United States: ""How can they expect us to
commit our "prime' years to them?''
""As they say, it's the new economy. We need to move around by our
second year of working life, to broaden our job scope in order to rise
faster.'' Most of those interviewed have had their pick of three or
more scholarship offers from the Public Service Commission (PSC),
statutory boards such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), or
the private sector.
Each overseas scholarship will cost $250,000 to $350,000.
Two out of three of the interviewees can afford to buy themselves out,
if they cannot get another employer to do it.
So why bother taking a scholarship at all?
It's a trophy. It looks good on your resume.
""My parents do want to pay but, honestly, there's a level of prestige
that most of us associate with scholarships and, if I don't go on one,
I'd feel as if I were less in demand than my friends,'' says a
19-year-old who will begin an engineering course in England in three
months' time.
And it is a great way to make contacts, others say.
A 19-year-old who accepted a scholarship from a statutory board is
quite clear about her plans: ""Working there for a few years will
allow me to build a contact base from which I'll be able to land a
more lucrative job -- maybe a multinational corporation or a big firm
will spot me and buy me out.''
Even the thought of being named publicly -- and supposedly disgraced
-- as a bond-breaker does not faze them.
So the move that the Economic Development Board and National Computing
Board took to name and shame bond breakers may be no deterrent.
""It doesn't really matter. If you're really good, a newspaper report
won't harm you much. It's not that much of a stigma now anyhow,'' says
a young man with a statutory board scholarship, who will attend an Ivy
League college.
You can forget about moral qualms too.
More than once, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made it
clear that state scholarships carry with them a moral responsibility
to serve Singapore.
This cuts no ice with the new generation.
""Why do we have a moral obligation? It's not a moral issue. It's just
a money contract -- they want us to work for them until we've
compensated them for the opportunity cost, and not because they want
to do us a favour,'' says one young woman.
Even the scholars' parents who disapprove of bond-breaking say that
their children must make their own decisions.
Says the father of a 19-year-old PSC scholar: ""I would think twice
myself before breaking a bond but she's from a different generation. I
guess she knows best what she should do.''
The PSC and MAS said when contacted that bond-breaking had been
negligible and they were not worried.
But there is some light at the end of the scholarship tunnel.
Five of the 30 scholars interviewed say they intend to fulfil the
terms of their scholarship and serve out the bond.
Says a Singapore Technologies scholar Zheng Wanshi, 19, who plans to
study economics at the University of Pennsylvania: ""We do have an
obligation to the organisations awarding scholarships because they are
investing so much in us. It's not just the money.
""And breaking the bond would constitute breaking a promise that
should not be taken lightly.''
====================================
Scholarship not simply a commercial contract
Scholars are selected carefully for their qualities, said PSA, who
keeps close contact with its scholars
By JOSEPHINE CHEW
A PUBLIC Service Commission scholarship is not simply a ""commercial
contract'' and the scholars are selected carefully for leadership
qualities and sense of service to the nation, as well as for their
academic results.
Ms Joyce Chia, public affairs manager of the public service division,
said that PSC keeps in close contact with its scholars while they are
overseas, and organises events for them to involve them in discussions
and issues faced by the Civil Service and Singapore.
In addition, ministers and senior civil servants who travel overseas
take time out from their trips to meet the scholars. ""We would not be
doing all of this if the scholarships were purely commercial
contracts,'' she said.
The PSC hands out about 250 scholarships a year, of which half are
overseas scholarships costing about $350,000 each.
Ms Chia said it did not expect every scholar to serve till the last
day of the bond.
So far, only a negligible number have broken their bonds. But she did
not give details. Said Ms Chia: ""Unforeseen circumstances may arise,
making it unfeasible or awkward for the scholar to continue serving.
Then the break clause provides a way out.''
Another government agency whose scholarships are sought after is the
Monetary Authority of Singapore.
A MAS spokesman said it had given out 154 scholarships since 1978, but
only five people had left without serving a single day. Only 1 per
cent did not serve out the full term. ""This number is not high in
comparison with the total number of scholarships awarded each year,''
said Ms Jacqueline Ong, a senior corporate communications officer at
MAS.
""As the incidence of bond-breaking is not alarming, MAS does not see
the need to take extra steps to discourage bond-breaking at this point
of time.''
She added: ""We consider it a loss if any of our scholars were to
break bond.''
Referring to what MAS chairman Brigadier General Lee Hsien Loong said
at the authority's award ceremony this year, Ms Ong noted that it was
not unusual for many scholars to be approached and propositioned with
offers before they graduate.
""The decision on how to respond to such propositions is up to the
individual as no one can make up his mind for him.
""But in the event that the scholar break bond but continue to work in
Singapore, we will not consider it a loss as he will still be
contributing to Singapore.''
==================================
Whom we spoke to
Profile of the 30 scholars:
Aged between 18 and 21. None have started their university studies
yet.
Twenty-five have no problems with breaking their bonds. Five say they
will not.
Eleven are already sure that they will not serve all six years.
Twenty can pay for their studies overseas comfortably. Of the other
ten, only seven would not have been able to pursue their degrees
overseas if they had not obtained a scholarship.
Most have an average of three to four scholarship offers to choose
from. Only four were offered one scholarship.
================================================
YES: I will break bond
HIS A-level results were excellent. Jack (not his real name) had four
As for his main subjects and passing grades for his S-level papers.
Four of the six overseas scholarships that he applied for came to him
on a platter.
Jack admitted his family could pay for his studies but said: ""I took
the scholarship so that I wouldn't be a burden to my parents.
""It'll give me a sense of liberation plus I'll be left in charge of
my own future.''
His reason for wanting to break his bond: he has big plans and wants
to make it to the top of his field without having to rise up slowly
through the ranks.
He intends to start his own business but cannot do so immediately
after graduating because he needs the grounding and contacts he will
get when he starts working at the organisation which awarded him the
scholarship, he said.
He plans to serve two years of his bond before being bought out by a
multinational corporation or buying himself out to set up his own
company.
His parents support him.
Said his mother: ""He is old enough to make his decisions... If he
needs to leave to hone his skills, why not?''
=============================================
NO: I will not break it
TOP arts student Wong Weihuang, 18, of Raffles Junior College, had a
perfect score: four As for his main papers, distinctions for two "S'
level papers and A1s for both General Paper and Chinese.
So it was expected that he would be offered at least two scholarships
-- one from the Public Service Commission and the other from the
Government Investment Corporation, which he took eventually.
Unlike the 25 scholars interviewed, Weihuang -- who will be studying
economics at Stanford at Palo Alto, in the United States -- said that
he would not break his bond.
""Even if I have to suffer for six years, I wouldn't compromise my
integrity because that would last a lifetime,'' he said.
The teenager is now serving his National Service term at Officer Cadet
School.
And he does not even need the scholarship as his parents are willing
to foot the bill.
He explained: ""Besides the fact that I want my parents to have more
during their retirement years, I also like the job stability that the
GIC scholarship will give me when I get back.''
His father approves.
""It's a commitment on his part to do the right thing and fulfil it,''
said businessman Wong Jian Jong, 48.
""It's like signing a marital contract.
""At the first sign of unhappiness, you can't just say you want to get
a divorce.''
**************From Uncle Yap**************
The Malaysian News & Discussion Group
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Leo
want all the praises while recession lives on?