The co-writers commented that the local varsities had attained significant global achievements and most young Singaporeans were happy with the local institutions, but many continued to pine for studies abroad for various reasons. The writers felt that it would be important in schooling students to have a greater breadth of subjects before specialising, and to place greater emphasis on independent thought and critical thinking. They highlighted that NTU's new University Scholars Programme (USP) did just that, but NTU's USP, along with similar offerings from NUS and SMU, were highly exclusive programmes and the forward-thinking approach pioneered by such programmes should be available to all students. The writers concluded that as a society, Singapore must support our universities with a vibrant social structure and studying locally must not be seen as uncool.
The Straits Times