Indeed, it cannot be denied that the National Service training was conceived with much noble intentions. However, the spate of untoward incidents that have surfaced since its inception has surely created some negative feelings on the whole program and also shaken the confidence of parents on the safety of their children. Of course, it’s expected that launching such a massive pilot project with 70,000 to 80,000 trainees involved, is no easy task and bound to have its share of hitches and hiccups. However, some of the unpleasant happenings are glaring results of slip-shot planning and implementation. Just to share a few cases in point :-

1. Case : Trainee allegedly raped by trainer
The trainers seemed to be recruited in a hurry just to make the numbers, without thorough and serious screening on their capability and background. Quality trainers are so key to the success of such a program. They need to be thoroughly familiar with the program objectives and be totally committed and responsible and disciplined as they are being entrusted with the country’s future leaders and the parents’ loved ones.

2. Case : Trainers not being paid
What are the authorities doing? They can blame on oversight or whatever but this is not excusable. A good boss never default wages/salaries to his staff.

3. Case : Trainee drowned
It’s really sad to hear such tragic happenings. Imagine the parents’ pain. Apparently the boy went off for a swim by himself and no one noticed his disappearance until they did a headcount. It is an accepted fact that accidents do happen. However, a life would not be lost if detected quickly and appropriate action taken immediately. Being assigned with about 50 trainees per trainer was obviously too large. If it were a manageable size of 10-15 trainees per trainer, anyone missing would have been noticed immediately.
This simply shows that there were not enough trainers recruited for the program. The authorities should have reduced the number of trainees for the exercise. On the other hand, with the given situation, an experienced trainer could have been more innovative by dividing his large group of trainees into subgroups of four’s or five’s and appoint leaders to take charge. This form of delegation not only would help him to manage better but also help build leadership amongst the trainees.

It is of paramount importance that the objectives of National Service training are clearly spelt out and understood by all. If it’s for youth development and leadership building then won’t it be more appropriate say, for Ministry of Youth to spearhead such a project rather than Ministry of Defence unless the govt’s intention is to prepare the youths for the country’s secondary line of defence.

Personally, I feel the NS training can do a lot of good for the youngsters. Many of today’s youths are too pampered and self-centered and take things for granted. The program provides an environment for them to learn to share and be more appreciative of what they have, be caring, helpful and tolerant. In fact, this has been confirmed by reports on the positive feedback from the first batch of trainees who completed their training yesterday.

However, In order to gain the people’s support and confidence in this program, it is imperative that the authorities be open and receptive to constructive criticism, feedback, do a thorough post-mortem of the pilot training and make the necessary improvements and changes before the next intake.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 2nd, 2004 at 12:28 am and is filed under General.