SABBATICAL LEAVE IN THE UNIVERSITIES (Rationale)

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SABBATICAL LEAVE IN THE UNIVERSITIES:

(Rationale): 2.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Education in light of the globalised university concept with shorter exchanges and overseas stays and pervasive borderless learning through information technology, what is the purpose of having sabbatical leave in the universities.

Mr Chan Soo Sen (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, Sir, in universities around the world, sabbatical leave is a well-accepted practice for the professional development of senior or tenured academic staff. Sabbatical leave enables staff to spend a meaningful period of time, which could range from several

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months to a year, away from their teaching and administrative duties at their home universities in order to deepen their scholarship and to work closely with other researchers and academics in their field of expertise. It is generally recognised that the regular face-to-face interaction with fellow academics in the course of a sabbatical provides advantages in research that are not always obtained through shorter exchanges or communication through IT. Both the occasional sabbaticals and shorter academic exchanges have their place.

Sabbatical leave also benefits the wider academic community in the universities. The collaboration and close networking that it enables can strengthen links between our universities and reputable foreign institutions and achieving a win-win situation. A well-chosen plan of sabbaticals can help enhance the international standing of our universities.

NUS, NTU and SMU have guidelines and processes to evaluate proposals from eligible academic staff who intend to take sabbatical leave to embark on study or research programmes, and to ensure that these programmes are aligned with the interests of the university.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim: Sir, the Minister of State mentioned that face-to-face interaction is better than short travelling, short attachment and video conferencing. I would like to ask the Minister of State whether it is worthwhile that such long attachments overseas would typically cause workload to be distributed to the rest of the staff and many other inconveniences. Is it still cost effective to send a staff overseas? I would also like to ask the Minister of State whether he is aware that a staff who goes for sabbatical leave overseas is receiving double salary, a salary from his own university as well as a salary from the other hosting university.

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Mr Chan Soo Sen: I am not so sure about the salary part. Obviously, some of them are receiving more. But I just want to answer the question by rephrasing the Member's question. If we say that because of IT and many other means of interaction, does it mean that the House here should meet less often because there is no need for face-to-face interaction and that we can get all the information that we need? It does not really follow. An opportunity to meet will enable us to have a feel of a different culture - maybe it is a different language culture, a different work culture or a different academic culture - a feel of other people's thinking, their background, their exposure. I am sure if she were to go for sabbatical leave, she will find that very, very beneficial too. Yes, obviously, there will be certain workload distribution. But nowadays, we may want to get away from this thing called "tunnel vision", that we will just teach the same thing year after year, and hope that our institution is still top class. It is not going to be like that anymore.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim: Sir, I would just like to ask the Minister of State for his views on whether sabbatical leave should be an optional or a compulsory item because some staff in the university have been told that they must go for sabbatical leave in order to qualify for promotion and tenure.

Mr Chan Soo Sen: I suppose if you have not gone on any sabbatical at all, or let us say if you have applied for sabbatical and never got it, there would probably be some fundamental questions asked why this should happen. And bearing in mind that if everybody else has got an opportunity to be exposed overseas through sabbatical, and let us say if I am the only one who did not have, obviously my exposure is not as wide.

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Perhaps, that can affect my promotion prospect. That is one possibility.

Mr Speaker: Prof. Ong, one last question.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim: Sir, a clarification. My question is to have the Minister of State's views on whether it should be optional or compulsory, and not something else. A lot of reasons for going for sabbatical, like what the Minister of State said, would be to get fresh ideas and to be exposed to somewhere. If a person is already making contribution, making significant research invention, having fresh ideas, and so forth, would he still be made to go for sabbatical leave in order to get some fresh ideas?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: From the way I answered the question, it would be quite clear that if you apply for sabbatical, the university would then consider it. You may receive some friendly advice from your colleagues or from the human resource department that it is good that you go for sabbatical. But if you really feel very secure that you are already making very good contribution and the sabbatical is not necessary, I am sure they will listen to your perspective and excuse you from sabbatical.