NS Flexible Time Management Schedule Policy ?
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Making changes to our current National Service policies to give our National Servicemen greater flexibility in planning their career? Shervin Huang
A flexible national service policy to allow our male graduates to enter the workforce early
By Kelvin Teo
Published: April 6, 2009
Writer’s forward: National Service is an issue that is close to the heart of every male Singaporeans. Thus, any change in National Service policies will affect those whom are currently doing their National Service and those who have yet to fulfill their obligation.
SINGAPORE– One of the main grouses of National Service (NS) is that the latter takes up two years of our lives, which could be spent doing more productive things. Compared with our female peers from the same batch, we typically enter the work force two years later.
The reduction of NS term for full-time NS (NSF) men from two and a half years to two years was seen as a welcome change. However, more can be done to give NSFs the flexibility to disrupt their full-time NS in order to pursue their studies.
If the disruption policy was made more flexible, NS men can save up to one year, entering the workforce one year behind their female peers from the same batch. Consider this example of a male and female peer both graduating from their pre-university course at the end of december 2009.* The female peer will commence the first year of her university studies in August 2010. The male will typically enlist for his national service in January 2010. By July 2011, the female would have completed her first year of studies while her male peer would have completed one and a half years of his NS.
If allowed to disrupt after one and a half years of NS, the male peer will commence his university studies in August 2011, exactly one year behind his female peer. A typical undergraduate program lasts from three to four years. The male peer will use his long semester break after the second semester to serve his remaining NS term. He will typically require up to two long semester breaks, each about three months long, to complete his NS obligations. By his third year in university, he would have completed his mandatory two years term of NS.
Whilst it is understandable that some students will still want to enjoy their semester breaks without the hassle of serving the rest of their NS term, this flexibility in disruption policy is meant to cater to those who want to make the best use of their time and enter the workforce early. They stand to gain from an extra year’s salary from their profession and necessary working experience compared to their same peers who did not take the same route as them. They will also not lack that far behind their females peers.
Ultimately, NS is a form of sacrifice that Singaporean males must make. However, the lawmakers in charge of planning NS policies should provide more choices to NS men so that the latter can chart their career path to their best advantage.
*EDITS: Polytechnic students typically finish their diplomas during the month of march, and not at the end of the year as mentioned earlier. “A” levels are completed by the end of the year.
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Stop hiding slavery behind the name of national service, it's NATIONAL SLAVERY.
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Oop someone up there said that we are a city not a country and another said we are not a nation yet. So where's the country and nation we are talking about right here? So it's should be called NOT A NATION YET SLAVERY or call it CITY SLAVERY.