Irony of the highest order. That’s my interpretation of the phrase “tertiary irony”. Recent news about “alternative intakes” of NUS/NTU students was also irony of the highest order.
1,400 places were “reserved” for unlikely students who were deemed to be appropriate for entry into various faculties, by dint of their extra-ciricular activities, and not just of the CCA/ECA kind. They wanted extremely special folk who at the same time had stellar grades. Kindly look at the given examples highlighted by ST: in my humble opinion, those 3 bright kids did very well, with a plethora of Bs and As. Yet they were deemed by the elitist tertiary institutions to be unworthy for initial entry.
Do you see the horrible irony here? They were rejected during the first selection process. Shouldn’t they have been chosen in the first place? By sheer dint of the fact that they had such interesting hobbies and yet were still able to get good grades, stood them two better than the thousands of extremely boring and bookish 1st-cut entrants into the faculty. You know, those who had 4 As, probably a few S paper distinctions but naught else to show for her/his 18 years of life.
NTU/NUS, get a life. This “olive branch” you’ve extended does not show your widening generosity and focus interests; it merely shows your stupidity. The fact that MOE Inc’s machinery forces our kids down the grinding path of enforced CCAs and top grades, leaving no room for hobbies, merely enforces the stupidity and irony of it all.
