REGARDING THE LATEST VS-VJC ISSUE:

(Refer to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116838246500)

Hello fellow Victorians. I am heartened to see that the VS spirit continues to burn strongly in all of us with passion and emotion. But let us not lose our reason. I present to you my personal perspective in a logical argument.

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED:

As I understand it, Victoria Junior College is proposing a 6-year through-train system, similar to that practiced in Dunman High School. The concern raised is that this would divert boys with high PSLE scores away from VS and towards VJC instead.

WHY IT IS NOT PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT TO VS:

VJC is not reaching into VS and robbing it of its top students; it’s taking them before they even choose an educational route to begin with. If parents wanted their children to go through a through-train route, they could have sent them to DHS or other through-train programmes. If you wish to accuse VJC of “depriving VS of a certain calibre of male students”, you must then also extend your accusations to all through-train institutions, including Raffles Institution and Dunman High School. When you do that, you will realise that it’s quite absurd. You might as well accuse Junior Colleges in general of depriving Polytechnics of “a certain calibre of students”.

I put it to you that the institution of VS is not much worse off from this. Victorians are not defined by their PSLE scores. Personally, I believe that a Victorian is defined by the way in which he carries himself- as a gentleman, sportsman and professional. A Victorian is defined by his spirit and character, which is forged in the countless and memorable experiences which those 4 years provided us. A Victorian is defined by his conduct, his peers, his views and his actions. I believe that society is better off because of Victorians, and there are simply too instances past and present for me to list them here.

THE FAILINGS OF THE THROUGH-TRAIN SYSTEM:

Personally, if I have sons in the future, I would encourage them to choose Victoria School over any through-train program. This is not out of any animosity towards Victoria Junior College, but a challenge to the concept of a through-train system.

Why would you want to commit your child to such an important long term decision at 12 years of age? What if he discovers a passion for something which would be better developed elsewhere? What a waste that would be. If any of my friends or family asked me where to send their kids, I would strongly advise them NOT to take the through-train system, and I suggest that you guys do too.

WHAT VS SHOULD DO:

I urge Victorians not to protest or slander. I believe that Victoria School’s true worth lies not in it’s academic results, but the character which it instills into its students. The onus is on every Victorian past and present to be mature about the issue.

Victorians who are currently studying in VS, please work hard academically and prove the worth of the school not through your words, but through your actions and results. The hopes and expectations of many generations of past Victorians rest on your shoulders. It is unfortunate that we live in a system which place so much importance on academic results. We might be able to correct it some day, by right now there is little we can do about it so please study hard.

Victorians who have graduated, Victoria School administration, OVA. I urge all of you to do all you can to ensure that VS survives and maintains itself. I am not too sure what influence we have on the matter, but our voices must be heard. Please be mature and responsible in your responses- it is not enough that we speak of the glory of Victoria School, we must represent it.

MY PERSONAL STAND

I am against any implementation which would undermine the current all-boys environment in Victoria School, as it is well and truly Something More. I will perhaps write a detailed argument entailing this separately.

I am against VJC implementing a through-train program, not because it would undermine VS in any way but because I believe that it is a path which many individuals might regret. VJC’s decision is ultimately (and unfortunately), its own. I am personally not worried that VS would be affected by this in any important way. Perhaps there may be some deviation in the statistics of our average O level grades. That matters little.

Given the opportunity, I would still encourage anybody who is eligible to go to Victoria School over any other available option. Victoria is something more.

Nil Sine Labore
Visakan Veerasamy
Victorian, Class of 2006