Polytechnic students should not be treated like customers

[makapaaa]

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I ECHO the sentiments of Mr Zheng Yi ('A student is a student - not a customer') and Mr Daniel Chan ('Going to school getting to be like checking into a resort') regarding Republic Polytechnic and their opinions on the fundamental or core values of this establishment in the Forum Online on Monday.
Treating students as customers in a transactional relationship with the polytechnic as opposed to nurturing them in a mentor-trainee framework based on discipline and actual academic aptitude has inherent problems invariably associated with certain wrongful assumptions about students of that age group.
Unlike mature students who are generally motivated by a genuine sense of self-improvement, interest and advancement in their respective fields of training, many young students have neither the experience nor the wisdom yet to know or care about the way they are being educated.
This being the case, empowering young students as customers who can influence the way an educational institution is run, based on their perspective of what is appropriate or not, may not be in their best interest. At their age, what they need most, apart from knowledge and skills acquisition, is the moulding and cultivation of character. This requires the enforcement of certain levels of discipline and responsible behaviour by persons they can look up to as role models.
From the perspective of the teachers (or facilitators as they are known in Republic Polytechnic), what are the implications of the school's core values on them as educators? Should they risk having a poor evaluation from their 'customers' by doing what is in the best interest of their students even if it means making themselves unpopular, or should they become subservient to the students' whims and fancies in return for a good assessment to increase their chances of career advancement?
Nurturing polytechnic students should not be like a business with the facilitators as service champions. It is about giving young students the guidance they need so that they can become productive and respectable individuals, even if it takes a bit of 'hard love' along the way.
Dr Colin Tey

 

[halsey02]

MONEY....Dr.Colin Tey..."THE COLOUR OF MONEY"..who cares about the rest.

 

[ahleebabasingaporethief]

MONEY....Dr.Colin Tey..."THE COLOUR OF MONEY"..who cares about the rest.

Agreed! Also their stupid KPIs!

That's why die die must make money. Every dept and ministry must NOT only just make money BUT must make BIG BIG money.

If lose money sure kneea cold storage to MAYORSHIP of out of party.

S'pore has gone downhill becos of such KPIs

 

[denzuko1]

I totally agree that the students should not be treated like a customer. Most of the time it is their parents who pay. The Polys need to treat the parents like a customer instead.

 

[Eurekas]

If they say that polytechnic students are treated like customers, in University the students are even more treated like customers with transactional relationship between the lecturers, admin and students.

Firstly, universities (even the national ones) assume that we are mature students, with a clear sense of self improvement and interest in their course. There are some university students who are not mature enough to have a clear sense of direction and goal to achieve, this makes them become the lost sheep in a sea of students. The students are expected to do the admin tasks like registering of courses, CCA, hostels, gyms and other facilities by themselves without the department heads giving a lecture on the institution's admin, rules and regulations.

Secondly, universities don't nurture students in a mentor-mentee relationship, based on discipline and academic aptitude, those ACE students and mediocre students like myself are being treated the same way, the lack of concern of the educators cause those mediocre students to be even more put off and uninterested in studies. I have known of a few lecturers who only reply to emails when I send 3 or 4 emails to them, the better lecturers did reply to most of the email I sent them.

Thirdly, the university fare badly in character cultivation and development. With the exception of major projects, Bachelor's dissection, Honours' thesis and a few other practical module, the education system is based more on stuff (theories) over substance. Our education system is based mainly on rote learning with little emphasis on character development, personal effectiveness, creating good impression for interviews, dealing with office politics and other practical skills. Its no wonder than we have heard that 80% of what we learnt in universities becomes obsolete when after we graduate.