Debated in Parliament on 7 Mar 2013.
Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the proportion of Singapore Citizen faculty members to non-Singapore Citizen faculty members teaching in each of the four Autonomous Universities as of 1 January 2013 in each of the academic tracks of tenure-track, tenured, and non-tenured; and (b) whether there are specific plans to develop and nurture more Singapore Citizen faculty members in all academic tracks to ensure a strong Singaporean Core committed to the long-term development of our Universities.
Mdm Speaker, in NUS, NTU and SMU, more than one in two tenured faculty members are Singaporean, while about one in five tenured faculty members in SUTD are Singaporean.
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For tenure-track faculty members, about one in four faculty members in NUS and NTU are Singaporean, while about one in six and one in three faculty members are Singaporean in SMU and SUTD respectively.
For non-tenure track faculty, about half of all such faculty members in NUS, NTU and SMU are Singaporeans. SUTD currently does not have any faculty members who are on the non-tenure track.
To deliver world-class education and research, our Autonomous Universities recruit the best talents possible based on merit, from around the world. However, they also recognise the need to develop local talent and have a range of different talent schemes and programmes to grow the pipeline of Singaporeans in academia.
Mdm Speaker, I declare my interest as an academic at the Singapore Management University. I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I am rather disappointed by the low figures. If I got the information correctly, for the tenure track and for the non-tenure track, we have a majority of faculty members teaching in our Universities who are not Singaporeans. I agree with the principle that merit ought to apply but I hope that there will be efforts undertaken by all the Universities to develop a Singaporean Core. I think this is important in light of our attempts to deliver a world-class education and we need people who are committed to the long term.
Mdm Speaker, I do not think there is any disagreement there with the professor that we should develop a strong Singaporean Core, not only in academia but elsewhere. I hear the call to encourage the Universities to have more Singaporeans on their tenure and other tracks. Indeed, that is the position of the Ministry of Education. The Universities are, as Asst Prof Eugene Tan has indicated, autonomous. So, they do have a large degree of autonomy in the way they recruit and in the way they structure. But that said, the Ministry is strongly supportive and encouraging of the Universities getting more Singaporeans onboard for all their tracks and we will certainly encourage them to do so.
Thank you, again, Mdm Speaker. I am pretty concerned about the tenure track faculty in our Universities because the majority are not Singaporeans. One can envisage that, going forward, the proportion of Singaporeans as tenured faculty in our Universities would be even lower. At the moment, it is one in two for most of the Universities, but
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going forward, given the lower numbers in the tenure track scheme now, that could mean problems in future when it comes to tenured faculty. We need to make a more concerted effort to develop local talent. My call here is not for preferential treatment but rather, a level playing field.
Mdm Speaker, I did not understand the hon Member's comment to be a request for preferential treatment. In fact, I understood it to be a call on merit. And I have no doubt that the Singapore academia are well placed to stand on their own merit and their own right.
Coming back to what I said earlier, and taking the Member's point about developing those who are in the pipeline, the Ministry will encourage the Universities to develop the staff who are in the pipeline. NUS has, for example, the Overseas Graduate Scholarship and the Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship which are for Singaporeans and Singaporean PRs. I understand that NUS also actively tracks and courts overseas Singaporeans to take up positions at NUS and a recent success was the recruitment of Prof Ho Teck Hua who was a professor of marketing at UC (Berkeley)'s Haas School of Business. Prof Ho is now the Vice President (Research and Strategy) and Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor in NUS. NUS has also tapped on the A*STAR academic pathway scheme to draw more Singaporean talents in research.
NTU does not have fellowship awards specifically meant to attract Singaporean talents, but it does have awards such as the Lee Kuan Yew Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Temasek Research Fellowship and the Nanyang-DSO Post-Doctoral Fellowship which is opened to all nationalities. NTU has also indicated that it intends to tap on the A*STAR academic pathway scheme to provide a pipeline of Singaporean talents in research.
As for SMU, it has its Faculty Development Scheme (FDS) which sponsors Singaporeans and Singapore PR graduates who are keen academic career and went overseas PhD programme. Upon successful completion of the degree, he or she will be considered for appointment to an assistant professorship at SMU. The School of Accountancy, School of Law, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Business have all made use of the FDS since SMU started in the year 2000.
As for the SUTD, it has been tapping on the A*STAR academic pathway scheme, and currently have one faculty from A*STAR in the form of secondment or joint appointments. They also work closely with Contact Singapore on the international faculty recruitment roadshows to bring back returning Singaporeans. It has had hired three returning Singaporeans from the
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US and UK in this manner.
That said, however, I think that the hon Member's thrust, really, is that we should do more to encourage the Universities to put Singaporeans on track, and that point is well taken.
Mr Zaqy, last question.
I thank the Senior Minister of State for her comments. We have seen the current ratios. Will the Senior Minister of State explain whether we see a decreasing trend over a period of time where we will see less and less Singaporean lecturers who are given full tenure? That is the impression that many lecturers have. The Senior Minister of State mentioned retention and how we have programmes to encourage more Singaporeans to be retained. But retention of existing local lecturers whom we can keep can be addressed. And whether we studied whether there is a skills gap, and gaps in meeting the criteria in which we can also help them be retained, while at the same time adding more to build up our Singaporean Core?
Mdm Speaker, I do not have the specific information at the time about the trends, but that can be looked into. Again, I understand the Member's question – his concern is that if there is a declining trend, then you must do something to arrest it. If the trend is on the upswing, it means that the Universities are taking the right track, and certainly that is something that MOE can ask the Universities to look into.
Order. End of Question Time.
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