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More news on university ranking in Singapore for today as Singapore falls to 15th place according to this article from straitstimes.com with an extract of it below:
by Amelia Teng
“SINGAPORE – Singapore has fallen 12 spots to 15th place in a ranking of the world’s best cities for university students.
Last year the London-based educational consultancy Quacuarelli Symonds (QS) ranked the Republic third in the world and the best in Asia.
However when it released this year’s table this morning it had plummeted, which QS said was due to adjustments made to some factors.
Cities were given scores across five categories for 18 measures, including four new ones that looked at their level of pollution, safety, transparency and tolerance.
Existing indicators included affordability and employability
this is from an article published by Straits Times…
“Remember the days when one B and two Cs would get a student into the arts and social sciences faculty of the National University of Singapore?
Not any more.
This year, A-level holders needed at least an A and two Bs, despite the faculty taking in the largest number of students at the university – 1,700 in all.
Two years ago, the minimum grade needed was three Bs.”
As expected, the shifts in education in a competitive Singapore are turning its wheels and grinding its gears. There’s no stone left untouched and in time to come, grades needed to enter NUS will only climb higher and its 22nd TOP UNIVERSITY TOP RANKINGS don’t help the matter much. We are an open education system and we have international students vying seats together with our students, and most people will think this is a bad thing but its more of fear that their children does not get a seat. However, this is not true as an open education system allows healthy interaction with the top students around the world, something Singapore needs to achieve a successful international trade programme.
So what does that mean to Singaporean Students?
As we climb higher up the world rankings, our education system becomes more attractive to foreigners and in our open education system, it attracts the best students and we in turn, will interact with the best in the world. That is a good thing. Competition creates excellence. And to vie for a seat in NUS will mean the cream of the crop of Singapore will be competing with the cream of the crop of the world. And that is our bread and butter. We survive because we have to be the best. To be the best, we need to compete with the best. Having a 22nd world ranking university, Singapore’s education system is at a better place right now than the last century and our students will enjoy all this excellent education infrastructure.
Top Education at our doorstep.
Just 20-30 years ago, we had to fly overseas to go to a properly good university with a properly good world ranking. We don’t need to anymore with NUS ranked at 22 at our backyard. I forgot to mention, NTU is at a not so far 39th for 2014.
That is an achievement that we should be proud of. I can only imagine the brains, the work and the funds needed to build two World Top50 University in Singapore. So this brings us to what is next? For a country where our natural resource is human resource, education and training lies high up the ladder for our future survival. But I foresee ourselves in safe hands with world class universities as part of our portfolio, but only if we have the system to create and nurture world class students to be able to qualify for these universities that we will reap the rewards, or else all those seats will be snapped up by the best of the rest of the world. Hardwork, proper training, and determination to be the best shall be dogma.
Sonnet 123 No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change
No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change: Thy pyramids built up with newer might To me are nothing novel, nothing strange; They are but dressings of a former sight. Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire What thou dost foist upon us that is old, And rather make them born to our desire Than think that we before have heard them told. Thy registers and thee I both defy, Not wondering at the present nor the past, For thy records and what we see doth lie, Made more or less by thy continual haste. This I do vow and this shall ever be; I will be true, despite thy scythe and thee.
Here’s some perspective of our education in Singapore. All data obtained from http://www.singstat.gov.sg
Singapore literacy rate (for 15 years and above) is at 96.5% with males at 98.5% and females at 94.6%. However, there is no change for males literacy from previous years but females upped 0.2% from 94.4% previously.
Singaporeans with Secondary education or higher (for 25 years and above) has increased from 67.7% to 68.8% with males 71.8% and females 66%.
Our mean years of studying are 10.5 years with males at 11.0 years and females at 10.0 years.
Also interesting, our social indicators have improved with 20 doctors for every 10,000 population as compared to 19 doctors from the previous data.
Whether you are preparing for GCE, GCSE, IB, PSLE, SAT, or any examination, it is imperative to get your brains fit for the exams. Try these few websites for free brain teasers:
1) Brainmetrix.com contains general games that tests most of brain activities. IQ based, Cognitive and even Sudoku can be found free in here.
BrainMetrix.com screen capture
2) GamesForTheBrains.com is also a general brain teaser free games website that are simple for children to navigate. Just click on the links you find on the frontpage and you are all set to go.
3) BrainHQ.com is another website but it is slick and organised into memory, attention, brain speed, people skills, intelligence, and navigation exercises. However, it does need a sign up to get the basic tier games, and to access the full site there is a purchase involved.
Have your assessment books ready and arranged at arms length. Have all your equipment organized within a radius of 1.5 metres. Have water, food and whatever you need to be comfortable near you so that you don’t have to walk away to pick things up. Have a dedicated studystation that does not need packing and unpacking every time you study. It is yours and you do not need to put all your books away after you are done studying.
That way, the moment you sit down, you are all set to study. Walk away when you are tired, and when you are refreshed, come back and study. No packing. No unpacking. It is always there. The easier you settle down to do your studies, the less time and energy you waste walking around getting your studying organized. Because it is always there for you and organized as well in a small footprint of your house. You don’t have to grab things from all over the house when it is located only in one place.
2) PSLE is like any other examination.
Every time you go for examinations, treat it as if it is your PSLE. Primary 6 has 4 main exams before the PSLE. CA1, SA1, CA2, Prelimns. Treat all these exams like PSLE. Study hard, prepare for it, and keep evaluating where you can improve yourself. With experience, PSLE will be a breeze and you’ll get it done proper. Organize yourself into studying for English PSLE, Mother Tongue PSLE, Science PSLE and Mathematics PSLE and when the day comes, psyche yourself up and get those grades.
3) Improve your memory.
Without a good memory, it will always be the problem of learning something and forgetting it altogether. So why start to begin with? Spend time memorizing what you learn and do it the same day that the topic was taught to you. Also learn tricks to improve your memory.
Generally speaking, to memorize anything is basically a case of not forgetting. Hence, the more we spend time repeating something, the lesser the chance that we will forget something. Come back again and test yourself another day just to make sure you remember it and over time, it will be in your long term memory banks.
4) Speed is mind over matter.
Not completing a paper is the worse way one can lose marks. PSLE in Singapore generally runs within a week and the papers are completed in 1-2 hours. There are situations where students mismanage time and spends too much time on questions. To solve this problem, allocate time for your studies and set an alarm whenever you attempt a question.
General guidelines are: 1 mark for every minute.
So if you attempt a 5 mark question, you are only allowed 5 minutes to complete it. Past that, you will need to jump this question and start doing the next question. Come back and attempt it when you have completed the rest of the questions.
5) Ask and you shall receive.
This is by far the most important thing to do for PSLE preparation. Teachers, parents, friends and family will not know what you don’t know unless you ask. The more you communicate your needs, the more people can help. Tell them what problems you face. There is no problem so big it cannot be solved and no problems too silly that they will make fun of you. Everyone has to start learning from basics sometime before they become masters. And master you will.
“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” – Chinese proverb
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