Does SGC encourage mercenary approach to CCA?

The School Graduation Certificate (SGC) is a relatively new feature of the JC co-curricular activity system. This certificate serves to sum up the non-academic achievements attained by a student during his time in college, and what's written on it may affect his chances of clinching scholarships, coveted internship attachments and a host of other competitive selection processes. In short, if you want to make something of yourself, you'd better chalk up a pretty SGC along with an impressive A-level cert.

That's when the issue becomes touchy.

Conversations with numerous schoolmates in NYJC and acquaintances from other colleges seem to reveal a somewhat twisted view of what joining a CCA in JC is about.

The purpose of a CCA is to instill essential life skills in the students. Basic organizational and communication skills aside, taking part in a CCA is more importantly an exercise of one's own personal convictions and values. We are already young adults, and based on our experience in previous CCAs in our secondary schools, we should already have some idea of what we would like to believe in.

So, with experience as our yardstick, we choose a CCA. Notice the wide spectrum of specialized activities in most colleges. I believe that there would be at least something that a student can relate to his own personal values, and even if all existing avenues are exhausted, the student may establish a special interest group that he likes. Taking part and performing in your CCA is therefore, not just fun or educational, it is also a practice that strengthens a person's convictions in himself and catalyze the development of a strong moral background; a set of philosophies and theories he can always fall back on in times of uncertainty.

However, I have a feeling that purpose has been defeated by the incessantly pragmatic and mercenary way many students view their participation in their CCAs. A personal friend of mine was naive enough to 'Google' for advice on "getting a good SGC". The acronym has become an overarching phantom lingering over many students' minds and I do not really think that's very healthy. The paper chase so deeply ingrained in our psyche is making me worry what kind of citizens will inhabit Singapore in the future.

Though I'm not denying the importance of producing tangible results to market your talents and achievements when need be, I'm saying we should not blindly focus on that either. The focus should be on your own ideas and beliefs and what you can do to develop and refine them. Results stem from hard work and sustained efforts, which can only be maintained if there exists strong motivation that thrusts you forward. By getting in touch with our own convictions and beliefs, we are opening the avenue for the production of such coveted tangible results and that will inadvertently reflect on our records, in this case, the SGC.

If you believe in something, go do it. If you don't know what you believe in, start believing in something soon.

By: Wu Xiaoyu