With so many high profile corruption cases of late – perhaps our universities should place more emphasis on
“ethics and corruption” education?
I refer to the article “Former and current SMRT workers charged with cheating in case involving S$9.8m worth of contracts” (Channel NewsAsia, Dec 29).
It states that “One SMRT employee and two others who previously worked for the rail operator, as well as a company director, have been charged with cheating offences involving contracts worth of a total of S$9.8 million”.
Oh no – not another high profile corruption case!
I googled “NUS ethics” and one of the first items from the search was
“YaleNUSCollege
Leadership Ethics
This course, taught by a coach during the semester, will explore the theme of ethical leadership and hone skills around real-world application. Students will explore and reflect on the following areas in the context of leadership:
- What is ethical, who decides, and how?
- Whose interest(s) is/are at stake, who determines, and how to assess?
- How to progress from being an ethical person to being an ethical leader?”
- Arguably, what we teach in our universities and particularly on ethics – may impact students’ mindset on ethics – corruption, etc.
As Keppel had settled the law suit for US$422 million – I thought I would next Google “NUS law suit” – and one of the first items from the search was from stomp.straitstimes.com which said “The woman, Ms Ten alleged that NUS had wrongfully terminated her candidature for the degree of Master of Arts in Architecture in 2006, a point contested by NUS.
However, an assistant registrar (AR) ruled in 2013 that most of the documents she sought were unnecessary or irrelevant, while others were privileged.
She then appealed in 2014 to a High Court judge, who dismissed her move and refused her leave to appeal further.
To pay for her S$5,000 legal fees, Ms Ten attempted to raise the amount through crowdfunding, and has gotten more than $2,000 within two days, reports Lianhe Wanbao via Lianhe Zaobao.
A netizen, Merv Tan, claimed to support Ms Ten and said he forwarded $100 to her.
Another netizen, going by Selena Chiong, said that Ms Ten’s comments were one-sided and do not intend to donate until NUS makes an official statement.
As of 12.20am yesterday (July 20), Ms Ten said that she had raised about S$2,098 via crowdfunding.
She also said in her blog that her mentor had stolen the fruits of her research in 2004, and received S$80,000 in funding for it.
Ms Ten further alleged that her mentor had delayed the publishing of her findings.
She subsequently requested a change of mentor.
She claimed that NUS sided with her mentor and refused her request, only setting up an investigation committee when she complained to an Executive Vice President .
Her allegations were refuted by the committee in Aug 2005 who cited a lack of evidence to back her claims.
Ms Ten however, continued complaining to the school and even took it to court.
She added that she intends to file an appeal later this month (July 2017), but has depleted her savings of over S$100,000 for the lawsuits.
She hopes to raise about S$5,000 for the impending legal fees.”
Perhaps our universities should give more emphasis to ethics and corruption.
What do you think?
Leong Sze Hian
