About time to rethink about our scholar selection mechanisms

Photo courtesy of UNLV Rebel Yell

Mr Eddie Teo, Chairman of the Public Service Commission gave a lengthy, but insightful presentation on the government scholarship system entitled “Defending Scholarships but not all Scholars” some time ago at the Singapore Seminar 2009 held in London. What was eye-catching about the presentation was a particular segment with the sub-title “Young Scholars – Some cause for concern”.

Source: The Public Service Commission website
Most of the current generation of young scholars are responsible and dedicated, but a few have a poor attitude and misplaced expectations. Some are very choosy about their postings and tend to place their personal interest above organizational interest. Many Management Associates or MAs want to go to MTI or MOF for their first postings and get upset if they are posted elsewhere. One was so upset that he resigned, breaking his bond. When some young MAs were asked to go to NTUC to observe retrenchment exercises and learn about what impact the current economic recession is having on ordinary Singaporeans, one MA asked “What is a retrenchment exercise?”.

Why should the Public Service be worried that some scholars are like this? First, if our scholars seek to advance only their self-interest, it indicates that they may be unable to work in a team. Much of public service work today involves teamwork because Singapore’s problems are becoming more complex and involve many Ministries, and no single individual can solve them. Besides, public policy making is always the product of a group effort, of repeated discussions and revisions. From the first idea to the Cabinet paper, proposals will involve many people and countless drafts. Some young officers are not used to this and do not feel a close enough sense of ownership with the final product. This is the way government works and is in fact a strength of our system because this is the way we gather different perspectives and considerations into a well thought-through solution. Second, if fewer and fewer young scholars desire ground postings, more and more of them may become divorced from ground issues and will start to lose their empathy for ordinary Singaporeans. The problem is not yet so widespread that it cannot be rolled back. There is still time for the Public Service to correct the trend. – Mr Eddie Teo

It is indeed a worrying trend if fewer young scholars desire ground level postings and Eddie’s concern about this potentially leading to a divorce with ground realities resonates with that of the many observers who are interested in the topic. Yet, his concluding statement about the Public Service correcting the trend can be seen as a form of admission that reforms to the Scholarship system are long overdue.

Hence, the pertinent question is what are the reforms that can be possibly implemented to ensure that we select the right scholars who are in it to serve the public, even if it means that they should immerse themselves at the ground level?

Some time ago, I have advocated having having an internship phase in the selection system in a separate article, and now having read Eddie’s concerns, the idea of having such a phase should be seriously considered. The idea is really to assess the prospective scholar’s level of fit with the Public Service. In a certain sense, it is an added mechanism to ensure that scholars who harbor the right qualities are selected, which are assessed from a period of internship that gives the scholarship selectors much more information about the prospective candidates that what a mere interview can achieve. The time frame for such an internship will usually stretch over four to five months before the academic term commences between June to August.

Having read Eddie’s concerns about scholars desiring postings in certain ministries such as the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Trade and Industry, one possible form of internship can be considered is one which requires the prospective scholar to go through not only the government ministry of his choice, but also two others. It is a little bit like medical internship during the Housemanship years where new medical graduates undergo rotations through broad level medical disciplines such as Medicine, General Surgery and Paediatrics or any other selected disciplines. In a sense, rotational internship experience will expose him to the realities at the current ministry of his choice, and also allows him to sample the working culture at the other two ministries. At the end of it all, he can make an informed choice about the choice of his destination.

It will definitely be interesting times ahead for the Public Service Commission is concerned as it ruminates on how to correct the current trend of problems that was highlighted. After all, what everyone wants are talented government officials who are in it in the name of Public Service.