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Education level does not necessarily reflect one’s intellect

I am shocked by the writer’s elitist stand in the letter “Jobseekers should play to their strengths in unequal job market” (May 14).

I am shocked by the writer’s elitist stand in the letter “Jobseekers should play to their strengths in unequal job market” (May 14).

First, in a world where people have diverse talents and backgrounds, it is obvious that not all intelligent people are degree holders; being a graduate does not mean that one is more intelligent than others. To suggest that graduates are currently assumed to be more intelligent and therefore that intelligence and educational level are correlated is circular reasoning.

Second, the writer stereotypes diploma holders as less capable than graduates in his sweeping statement about jobseekers “having the abilities of a diploma holder but asking for the salary of a degree holder”.

Third, while it is hard to compete with the highly educated for the same jobs, one need not view one’s educational level as a form of weakness.

How many in our current workforce are graduates of Ivy League and our public universities? If the rest believe in such dogma, it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy; when one believes that one is weak or unintelligent, one becomes thus.

I once had a conversation with a doctor from India’s best medical school, who observed that the uneducated have developed a certain toughness as they must survive the harsh realities of life.

The best example of this is our pioneer generation, who were less educated than our current generation, but possessed the gumption that secured Singapore’s survival.

Less-educated workers should seek to emulate our pioneers and turn “weakness” into strength.

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