TODAYonline | Voices | Disparity in tertiary education facilities

TODAY Online: Voices | Disparity in tertiary education facilities

There’s always this problem with a handful of Junior College (JC) students – elitist mindset. Very often, they feel superior to their peers who are in the polytechnics or ITEs.

In this letter that this JC student wrote to the press, it is evident to me he feels being a JC student who is supposedly brighter and better than their peers, his school facilities should not be sub-par to or even better than those of the ITEs.

I personally know of several friends who were from the ITEs who eventually work their way to the Universities and excel in their fields.

The disparity in the quality of equipment and facilities in the schools compared in the letter are probably due to the timeline of replacement set by the schools. The fact that it is an ITE doesn’t mean the equipment should be old and the priority of renewal should be on the back-burner.

Everyone has to realise that no matter what path a person takes or the school in serving the education needs of a student, there should be no discrimation against or disparity in the treatment of school or its students.

Playing Robin Hood?

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/business/global/micro-tax-on-financial-trades-gains-advocates.html?emc=eta1

It feels great to see many pushing for this but I can also understand why Obama is not keen based on the reasons cited.

A small tax of 0.1% or less will have very little impact on even the small retail investors. The Singapore and Hong Kong models have proven this. When you buy with the expectation of capital gains, most won’t mind the puny tax. When you do sell (usually at a profit), it’s even truer.

A transaction tax of this nature hurts less than an income tax or a Value-Added Tax or Goods & Services tax because people don’t profit as often or even at all when they consume.

It’s time for change and this is the change Europe and the US should work towards. This revenue can either help the poor or revive the dying economies of the former great countries…