Can universities teach students to be good?

University marks a time when students take more responsibility for their educational journey. Is that the best time to impart values? Or the worst?

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Recent debates in Singapore about cheating by aspiring lawyers during the bar exam could be the tip of the iceberg. Around the world, the swift move to online education and assessment led to hand-wringing about a "pandemic of cheating" on the one hand, or an "Orwellian surveillance state" on the other.

As education adjusts to its new normal, and as we prepare to welcome students into a new academic year (and, in my case, the new NUS College), there is an opportunity to rethink many aspects of education. That includes the place of technology, the mix of active and passive activities, as well as helping our students to see across disciplinary and geographical boundaries.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 28, 2022, with the headline Can universities teach students to be good?. Subscribe