2021年经济学人 新加坡大学关闭,学生奋起反抗(1)

Asia

亚洲板块

Higher education in Singapore

新加坡的高等教育

Lessons learnt

经验教训

Singapore's first liberal-arts college closes its doors

新加坡第一所文理学院关闭了

Classes the next day were cancelled, the email said, and everyone was encouraged to attend a town hall instead.

邮件中说，第二天的课程取消了，鼓励大家去参加市政厅虚拟会议。

A wave of speculation¹ rippled² through the student body at Yale-NUS, a college set up in 2013 as a tie-up between Yale University and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

2013年，耶鲁大学和新加坡国立大学(NUS)联合成立了耶鲁-新加坡国立大学。

At the meeting on August 27th administrators³ announced that the college's programmes will be combined with another at NUS to form a new institution by 2022.

在8月27日的会议上，管理人员宣布，学院的项目将与新加坡国立大学的另一个项目合并，到2022年形成一个新的机构。

When the current crop of first-years graduate, Yale-NUS will cease to exist.

等到这批新生毕业时，耶鲁-新加坡国立大学将不复存在。

Most undergraduate students in Singapore choose specialised courses of study, such as medicine or law.

在新加坡，大多数本科生选择专业课程学习，如医学专业或法律专业。

Some universities had begun experimenting with interdisciplinary curriculums but it was with Yalenus, the city-state's first liberal-arts college, that Singapore signalled its commitment to a new approach.

一些大学已经开始尝试跨学科课程，但新加坡的第一所文理学院雅伦斯学院标志着新加坡将采用一种新的方式。

Its launch was billed as a grand experiment testing whether an American-style liberal-arts education could sink roots in Asia.

它的推出被视为一项测试美国式的文科教育能否在亚洲扎根的宏大实验。

The decision to close the college was made by NUS, which is consolidating⁴ six departments, Yale-NUS among them, into three new colleges.

关闭该学院的决定是新加坡国立大学做出的，它将六个系合并为三个新学院，其中包括耶鲁-新加坡国立大学。

The restructuring, which affects about 18,000 students or half the student body, is in fact a mark of the university's commitment to the liberal arts, argues Chan Heng Chee, a diplomat⁵ who sits on the college's board.

该校董事会成员、外交官陈恒智表示，此次重组影响了约1.8万名学生，相当于该校学生总数的一半，实际上是该校致力于人文学科的标志。

The purpose is to make "liberal-arts education more accessible (to Singaporeans) and more inclusive", she says.

她说，这样做的目的是让“文科教育更包容，更容易(被新加坡人)接受”。

Yale-NUS is "exclusive", she argues.

她认为，耶鲁-新加坡国立大学是“排外的”。

It admits at most 1,000 students a year, 40% of whom are foreign.

该校每年最多招收1000名学生，其中40%是留学生。

The new college will enroll⁶ twice as many students and will, if NUS fees are anything to go by, charge them less.

而这所新学院将招收两倍的学生，如果按照新加坡国立大学的收费标准，学费将降低。

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 rippled   

使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The lake rippled gently. 湖面轻轻地泛起涟漪。
• The wind rippled the surface of the cornfield. 微风吹过麦田，泛起一片麦浪。

3 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

4 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。