You mean life?
Sorry, but in reality, there is only one true purpose to life; passing on our genes to the next generation.

Just as people from times long ago worked to build a sustainable home, family, and job, people do the same today. Did the farmers of the Middle Ages have the luxury of studying the arts and literature? No, they worked to feed themselves and their family.

It’s been this way forever. Life isn’t slavery, and they very fact that we have the free time now to explore other fields outside of our work puts our standard of living far above that of ANY human from any other time period.

I’m sure the upper echelons of our ministry of education has gone through the same thought process as you did before implementing whatever schemes they have for Singapore’s future. The thing is, not all of us have the ability to make it far in our area of interest; you might be really good at drawing, but somebody out there is even better, and chances are there is another somebody that is even better than that guy. You really have to be the cream upon the cream of the crop in order to make a name for yourself in the field of arts or music or literature.

Singapore is a really small nation. With a population of only nearly five million, the probability of producing an exceptional talent is probably infinitesimal. Well you can compare the level of competency of our talents using the talent/game shows which are common in both our country and much larger countries, given that they are a somewhat accurate representation of talents in their respective countries. We just can’t match up.

Like you said, high risks yet low returns. Our education system actually safeguards us from falling into our own trap, albeit in the process sacrificing any advancement in our culture. Additionally, to have a single, distinct and true culture in Singapore will be somewhat tricky given our multiracial and religious nature.

Practicality being the forefront of everything we do in Singapore, there’s no surprise that there is little emphasis on “low returns” fields of study. The only redeeming point is perhaps how every student, sometime during their education, is required to study a ‘critical thinking’ subject such as a humanities or general paper. Hopefully, these subjects will provide students, however little it may be, a different perspective and serve to inform them about this ‘choice’ that they have and should consider about.

If someone really has what it takes to make it big, then probably nothing can go between him and his dreams, not our education and sometimes not even the military.

Just a side note, I’m not from MOE or PAP or anything. I just feel that what we think might be the right way might not necessarily mean it’s the correct way, and maybe we’re really still too naïve to understand the mechanisms of society to make a judgment.
I still do agree with you though. =)

(By the way, I realized that your articles actually make good education material, especially how you make the effort to hyperlink jargon and other unknown stuff.)

Everytime I look at an article about such a topic, chances are, the comments’ll be full of nonsense from semi-literate idiots ranting on how the government has failed them. I find almost all the 51 comments before this rather great as well and a fitting discussion to follow the initial article. So thanks, guys from various nations. Most such discussions on Singaporean-only sites devolve into mudslinging sessions between the anti-government sheep “why the gahmen no give me money?” and the moderates, who are able to acknowledge the achievements of the PAP without totally agreeing with their methods. I don’t think there are any staunch PAP supporters left below the age of 30.

I’m pretty sure this “Mature” guy is an imaginary friend DM conjured up to stimulate discussion, because no “mature” guy busy feeding his family’ll be reading an anime blog.

I find that a lot of Singaporean students choose their careers based on what is in demand as stated by the Singapore government. Unfortunately we live in a small country where everything is planned out and workers are needed to drive the economy and we have to adapt constantly to the trends of the rest of the world.

I believe that any job can earn you big bucks as long as you work hard and put in your passion and effort. Even the unpopular ones that everyone shuns. As long as you are a pioneer in your field.

But it also depends on what you pursue in life and your expectations. If you want more, then sometimes its harder to achieve your goals and more sacrifices have to be made.

In the end, everyone has to find his own balance of dreams and reality. And that can change as we grow as the world around us is constantly changing too.