Choosing to continue our education is forsaking money earned from work? But if we don’t have sufficient knowledge and skills, who will hire us? Do you mean that after O Level, if we are unwilling to go to JC or cannot make it to JC, we should not further our studies if we think the transport fare is unfair?

I do not fully agree with the proposed changes, except that poly and JC students should be charged the same. If SBS thinks they will suffer a loss, how about raising all concession prices to eg 55 cents? The main point is for poly and JC students travel at the same price. When buying tickets to play at theme parks, they only charge you according to your age and not where you study. Why can’t transport fares be the same?

i do agree that students who are not adults should not be charged like one, esp when their peers from other institutes are paying a lower fee.

however, did anyone notice that Bernard is already 23? does anyone knows wat are the responsibilities of an adult? could the service provider be blamed because adults could not be self-sufficient enough? did anyone notice that postgraduate and master’s class S-T-U-D-E-N-T-S are adults too?

i do agree that youths should not be charged on the basis of their institutes however, the proposed system is flawed. SBS is not a charity organisation so please look at them as a capitalist and come out with a win-win situation if you really want it to work. did anyone calculate how much money SBS will lose if the cheap fares are applied to all S-T-U-D-E-N-T-S? if so, what makes you think that they will adopt it?

i suggest that the plan to be changed in a way that it discriminates age. students who are not adults should not pay the higher fees. (but of course, what about our poor boys in uni who are adults since first year?)

A very excellent piece of summary and if the people still do not get it then . . . sigh…

59) Nurul Ain

I applaud you on your argument.

Now, I would like to add something.

To all of you who argued against the petition for whatsoever reasons, may I ask that you invite your parents to come read what you have written. I am sure they will give you two tight slaps for not helping them save some money especially when it has to do with discrimination.

In the Name of Lord UDeep and of Singapore Polytechnic, WE WILL RISE TO MAKE THIS SUCCESSFUL! Let’s make this FAIR so everyone is happy!

For Singapore Poly! FTW!

Isn’t that, i.e you, how a person speaks who clearly lacks something up there? What do you call that, uhh, NARROW-MINDEDNESS? If you hadn’t noticed yet, poly students have substance and a good percentage qualify for JCs and universities. The point here, everybody, isn’t how smart we are or what our intellectual levels are. Not about superiority over other. Can’t you people get that screwed inside your heads once and for all?

It is why SBS Transit imposes on us heavy transport fares, whereas we don’t have an income, our parents still give us money, and why the other educational levels, who are of the same age, height, weight, width, whatever enjoy and pay $27.50 every month. WHY?

Why until now SBS have not stepped in to explain the poly concession to alleviate the situation? Why has SBS kept mum? Why is SBS feigning ignorance to a supremely sensitive situation?

The government wants to help us, New Singapore Shares, Budget 2008 what have you. But it is these everyday things that hurt us most. All poly students! Please support this movement. As a saying goes, “Nobody can help us but ourselves.” Rise up everybody! Wake up from your slumbers! Shake yourselves off from your veils of ignorance! Put aside your folly and music! Unite as one!

I know and totally realise the government has done much to support us. Just look at our school facilities, everything. For this, I feel grateful for their presence, authority and strength. But just this once, can’t anybody hear our voices and cries asking for help and an emphatizing listening ear?

Our country claims democracy and let’s prove it now by supporting this petition until the end! Don’t falter Team Temasek! Kamilul Ashraf! Bernard! We are behind you! I am totally proud to be a polytechnic student, and a TP one too in fact. I am not spineless and I follow what is right and know what is wrong now. Come on everybody!

We’re the strength of Singapore!
Temasek’s me, Temasek’s you
We are a Team..

What makes you say poly 1 student and jc 1 student are different? They are of the same age leh. You mean if you choose jc, then you auto become kid and if you choose poly, you auto become adult? Very confusing leh.

hongjun

Maybe we should find out the purpose for the currect transport fare system in Singapore, before pointing fingers at the government.

Please don’t mistake me as siding the government. I just thought the petition might create a better impact on the appropriate authorities if we have more justified problems to pinpoint at. :)

In short, this petition is about one word, “Fairness”. It is not about equality.

In our opinion, it is wrong to adopt the equality approach. And we understand that we cannot please every interest group.

At a glance, it can be noted that we are removing the distinction between “tertiary” and “non-tertiary” and enforcing discrimination between a Polytechnic, University and Private student.

The group has no intention to discriminate between a Poly student and a Uni student. One has to look at the bigger picture behind this proposal. We are trying to propose that transport operators work within a proposed framework (0 to 60%) in which concession fares could be priced. A fair arrangement from the existing 89% difference in fare prices.

And certainly, this is not Polytechnic exceptionalism at work here. Under the proposed arrangement, University students enjoy a maximum saving of $23.50 per month, which if given due consideration and approval is a major concession on the part of transport operators. The question is this: would you retain your “tertiary tag” and forsake $282 worth of savings a year?

Certainly, under the proposed changes, a polytechnic student do not benefit at the expense of university students. Both groups are proposed to be given a fair deal by the PTC. It is also fair to a private student as under the current arrangement, they do not even enjoy any concession at all and are paying the usual adult fares to get around everyday.

This is a bread and butter issue not an issue over “technicalities & ideology”

Another highlight of this petition is constantly being ignored. Parents are usually the one who are paying for their children’s transport fares. The point is that our parents, under this current arrangement has to bear a bigger burden and it is only fair that the PTC looks into alleviating their cost burdens.

This is a call to seek an understanding between transport operators and different student interest groups. They need to understand that the current arrangement is unfair and they look to look at rectifying and improving it. At the same time, as young Singaporeans, we must understand that transport operators must be viable in the longer term.

This is a petition for change, a change in the attitude of transport operators towards its stakeholders, and more importantly, a change in the mindset of young Singaporeans that the destiny of this country, the policies affecting us are not written for us, but by us”

that’s soo defeatist!