26 March 2018
The audience at the recently-held Straits Times Education Forum were unable to decide whether acquiring a degree or mastering skills was more important for success in life.
The Straits Times Education Forum was organized in partnership with the Singapore Management University. The topic of discussion was entitled “You don’t need a degree to succeed in life”.
Mr Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and SkillsFuture Singapore chief executive Ng Cher Pong argued for the motion, while SMU president Arnoud De Meyer and the university’s law dean Goh Yihan stood against.
Mr Andreas Schleicherr singled out successful people who were university dropouts and “unsuccessful in formal education”, such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, but Professor De Meyer pointed out that the group of people who are successful without a degree was extremely small, or infinitesimal, as he put it. He added that every member on the debate panel held a degree, and questioned if they would be there if they did not.
Prof Goh Yihan said a degree builds upon years of learning soft skills such as building one’s confidence, finding one’s passion and honing one’s leadership abilities.