WE THANK Dr Sally-Edith Yong (of the Management Development Institute of Singapore) for last Thursday's letter, 'Police's poly-diploma-only policy: Move with the times'. The Public Service Division (PSD) website does not state that 'diplomas from private educational institutions will not be given the same recognition as those from polytechnics as the former require less than three years' study'.

Instead, what is stated is: 'One-year diploma qualifications offered by local private institutions are generally not considered as equivalent to local polytechnic diploma qualifications, for purpose of Public Service appointments.'

PSD is not in any position to grant recognition to qualifications; we can only state if they are deemed equivalent to what we use as benchmarks. For recruitment purposes, the diploma qualifications from our local polytechnics are a benchmark of standards.

Academic qualification, however, is not the only factor considered in recruitment. A person without the necessary academic qualification may still be appointed if he has the relevant experience and skills and is found to be the best candidate for the job.

Bernadette Sim (Ms)
Director, Personnel Policy
Public Service Division
Prime Minister's Office

This article was first published in The Straits Times.