I refer to the letter “Degree holders perceived as more capable in society” (May 11). First, graduates “are assumed to have greater intelligence” because the correlation currently holds.
But in a future where nearly everyone has a degree, no one would perceive it that way.
Taiwan and the United Kingdom are exemplars of this. For example, a degree from the University of Cambridge is nothing like a degree from Anglia Ruskin University.
“The high-paying jobs of the world” may have a degree as a basic requirement, but good luck getting the high-end jobs with a degree from the latter.
With strong extra-curricular activities, however, one can overcome the disadvantage, which is my point in the letter “Intelligent employees, not degree holders, secure higher salaries” (May 9): The degree is useless; the extra curricula is what counts.
Second, the Education Ministry’s pay gap between degree and diploma holders should be corrected, in my opinion, to be more flexible and reflective of the individual. It does not mean, however, that with a degree from a third-rate university, one would automatically get a higher pay. One may not get the job if one’s degree is perceived to be inferior.
And with a rigid pay scale, it is even more important to ensure that one is not priced out of the market by having the abilities of a diploma holder but asking for the salary of a degree holder.
People should play to their strengths, not their weaknesses. Getting a degree from a third-rate university and hoping to compete with graduates of Ivy League universities and/or our public universities is playing to one’s weakness.
I would give everyone enrolled in a university credit for trying. But if one graduates from a third-rate university, is in heavy debt and is priced out of the market, one only has oneself and the job market to blame.
I would thus give the Government some credit for trying to fix the job market via alternatives to a degree, instead of being as dismissive as the Bloomberg article, “Singapore wants kids to skip university: Good luck with that” (May 4, online).
