NTU student uses empty bag ruse to cheat cabby of $23 taxi fare
Sunday, January 23, 2011
After reading this article, I felt sad yet at the same time angry, to see this type of incident happening in Singapore. From the earlier slashing incidents, the Singaporean student who is arrested in UK for child pornography, to this cheating of cabby incident, it probably shows people that there are flaws in Singapore’s education system.
Singapore education system is based on meritocracy, where individuals are rewarded based on ability and hard work. This is actually a good thing, as this would allow students to strive for excellence in their academic areas. However due to this system, schools would focus more on the academic side of students, neglecting morale education. Therefore this is probably why the students had forgotten the basic values in life. However it is not fair to blame the education system of Singapore, it still boils down to each individual. If an individual is responsible for their actions, incident like this would not occur.
Hence, I felt that the NTU student should have thought of the consequence first. She should know that her selfish actions would affect others. Like in this incident, she should not have sat the cab when she did not have the money to pay for it, because cabby drivers do not earn much income, and yet they have to support and feed their family. What she had done was totally wrong, it had shown others how selfish her character was. Furthermore through this incident, she had tarnished the good image of NTU which is a well respected university.
Therefore in conclusion, I feel that individuals should be responsible for their own actions. They should think of others first before themselves, and they should know when to do the right thing and when not to. Lastly, if possible, the government can also implement civics and morale education in schools. Thereby with this, I hope that individuals would develop a good character and is able to think for others beside oneself.