What academic freedom?
A wake-up call, is all I'm hoping this signifies.
Thanks to Adrian (and earlier, Beach-yi) for tip-offs.
Mr T says: Singapore's academic freedom must evolve - Reuters 22 Oct
Earlier this week the University of Warwick, which was most recently ranked eighth among British universities in The Times Good University Guide, abandoned plans to set up a campus in the state, citing concerns over academic freedom.Apparently, our freedom rating of 147 (out of 167 countries) leaves us behind Afghanistan (97), Sudan (132) and Uzbekistan (142). It's painfully funny - no, wait - just painful.
Technorati: freedom, civil liberties, Singapore, higher education
ao longo de garota a 10:01
7 Comments:
questions: what does the ranking actually mean? what does it actually mean that Singapore does not have academic freedom? how did they come up with the rankings? what are some examples of the lack of academic freedom? how much does it actually matter? and exactly, what were these concerns over academic freedom?
reason i ask is because, despite the seeming lack of academic freedom, we do produce rather good research. Kishore Mahbubani writes his thoughts freely. research is done in various areas, some yielding internationally acclaimed results. so what is it about academic freedom?
i think it is important for us to understand these questions rather than just taking things at face value. 147 is just a number. what does it really mean?
23/10/05 15:25
Hmmm. Rench00... good point on "Does academic freedom actually matter?, and "What is academic freedom".
29/10/05 01:18
rench: of course 147 is a number. it is a numerical value that is computed based on a plethora of variables deemed to be associated with the idea of "freedom of expression". but RSF has more on that.
you do raise a good question of what academic freedom actually means. there is a vast body of literature on this, and many vary, although there are several identifiable key constructs which seem to overlap across culture and language.
one thing i wanted to respond to was the point on sg producing good research. you make a good point. at the same time, it is difficult to assess academic freedom based on what *does* exist, since any evidence for the lack of academic freedom would be marked more than what hasn't been produced, rather than by what has. well, that alongside the research on academic freedom itself that hasn't been subject to the same level of academic, erh, freedom.
chest freezer: right on.
30/10/05 04:49
i think Mr T. gave a very good response. he said that the ratings and the fact that warwick pulled out because of concerns was something that the Ministry should look into. but at the same time, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
essentially, we have done well, but we can do better, though better in our own ways rather than conform to someone else's yardstick.
a rather more balanced view i think.
30/10/05 11:31
rench: that was not my point, though: i wasn't advocating any particular direction sg "should" or "ought" to go towards - personal restraint notwithstanding - but rather, what the notion of academic freedom might imply, across various contexts.
i'm compelled to respond to your phrase "someone else's yardstick"; i suppose this debate ultimately boils down to whether or not the very concept of "freedom" is deemed universal vs. culture-selective (to varying degrees, of course). again, not arguing either way, but just raising the operatives of such a debate.
i completely agree that we can do better. sg has much potential for that, methinks.
an interesting thought: what someone may consider to be the bathwater may well be what someone else considers to be the baby. just something to chew on.
30/10/05 21:23
agreed on that point.
i personally don't think that 'freedom' is universal. depends on place and time.
man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains.
it's always a compromise.
31/10/05 01:09
Well, I'll like to trade off the kind of chains Singapore offers me for a much lighter and longer kind, thank you very much.
31/10/05 03:48
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