JC vs Poly students

Wed 21 April 2010

Do JC students deserve priority over polytechnic students for admission into local universities? This debate caused quite a stir after The Straits Times printed a letter by Lee Beng Tat, stating that JC students deserve a place in local universities more than Polytechnic students.

In it, he made statements like, "To Poly students, their end point, in Singapore at least, should be their diploma", and "Polytechnic students cannot have it both ways".

This ignited furious online discussions, with irate Polytechnic students even setting up a hate group on Facebook called "Yes, We hate Lee Beng Tard".

Since then, two further letters have been printed in The Straits Times – one from a polytechnic lecturer who disagreed with Lee's views, and another writer who agreed that JC students should get higher priority.

Some JC students RazorTV spoke to agreed that the letter was unfair, even suggesting that Lee was probably scorned because he failed to get a university placement himself.

However, there were students who think Lee has a valid point. "I agree. It is easier for poly students to get a job with a diploma than the A-level cert holders who are left hanging in the air," said one student.

RazorTV sounded out the JC versus Poly student debate.

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