It is amazing that NUS new talent development programme aims to teach a select few how to think through problems rather than follow instructions in a cookbook (Looking for X- factor in undergrads, STWE, 22 June 1996). If that is the special feature of the programme, what can we infer about the regular teaching programme at NUS?
Why assume that only members of an elite group are worthy of opportunities to maximise their intellectual potential? There is no reason why all students at every educational level should not receive the training and opportunity to develop independent thinking skills. In this case, university students are already part of the Singaporean elite. Are we to believe that only the elite of this elite are capable of thinking autonomously?
The fundamental obstruction to educating all students to think independently is not bloated syllabi or unimaginative teaching methods. The real culprit is an elitist assumption that only a tiny number of people are capable of independent thinking. Hence an educational system largely designed to identify an elite to whom more resources can then be devoted. For example, some recent suggestions to amend the GCE A-level examination system seemed to have stemmed more from concern that the system was no longer able to sort the super-clever from the merely exam-smart, and less from worry that the system was unsuitable in fostering independent thinking.
Finally, the sub-dean of NUS Science Faculty, Dr Tan Eng Chye, was only half-right when he said that a good mind is a terrible thing to waste. It is terrible to waste any mind, not just a first-rate mind. What a pity that so many young minds are not given the opportunity to learn to think independently!