IT IS tempting to blame it on the 'Dragon Year' effect for the lack of freshmen interest in engineering and science- related courses at the local universities and polytechnics.
But the truth is simply that there is a global trend towards the more 'glamorous' courses like digital media and business studies.
Local factors are merely part of the bigger picture.
Thus, this being a year with a big cohort of 'Dragon babies' seeking tertiary places, more girls have applied - many choosing the humanities, social sciences and mass communications courses.
In the Chinese Almanac, the Dragon Year is auspicious.
The shift away from university engineering, science and technology courses seem more pronounced as a result.
But the shift in university course preferences applies to the boys too, and the slide had started two years ago.
The trend is mirrored in the polytechnics.
Parents recently complained of a shortage of places. It was also alleged that many who qualify for junior college opted for the poly route - leaving average O-level scorers without a place in courses of their choice.
But it became clear that the problem was not a shortage in poly places per se, but only in the popular courses.
Most poly students opted for the more 'glamorous' courses like life sciences, tourism and management, and digital media, and shunned engineering and nursing, for which there still were a few thousand places available.
Even sports management and integrated events management proved popular.
This shift away from engineering, science and technology at the tertiary level seems here to stay - even the students who are strong in the sciences and mathematics are forsaking such courses.
It is happening elsewhere too, including Britain and the United States, where the slide in science and technology disciplines started in the 1990s.
LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES
Engineers have designed, created, and modified nearly everything we touch, wear, eat, see and hear in our daily lives.
At British universities, engineering courses have seen applications dwindle by five per cent year on year, according to University and College Admissions Service, leading to course closures even.
The trend is just as alarming in America. According to the American Association of Engineering Societies, college-bound students planning to study engineering declined by more than 30 per cent in the last decade.
One trend noted in these countries is the decline in the popularity of science and mathematics in high school, where fewer students are studying the subjects.
But Singapore has a school system which encourages an interest in mathematics and science.
Indeed, over the years, the percentage of O- and A-level students taking up Physics, Mathematics and Additional Mathematics has been stable, the Education Ministry said.
It is only when deciding on polytechnic and university courses that students eschew these disciplines.
One telling statistic: an overwhelming 95 per cent of the students who were admitted into the National University of Singapore's business school could have qualified for science- and engineering- related courses.
Twenty students interviewed by The Straits Times summed it up this way: Science and engineering have an image problem.
They described engineering as 'boring' and 'a hard slog with little rewards'.
They did not buy the argument that an engineering degree can offer a steady job.
Perhaps engineering schools should excite youngsters by showing them how engineers have designed, created and modified nearly everything we touch, wear, eat, see, and hear in our daily lives.
After all, personal computers, MP3 players, mobile phones and instant messaging are products of imaginative engineering. So are bubble gum, movie special effects, rollercoasters, and synthetic human tissue replacements.
Students here have the mistaken notion that once they sign up for an engineering degree, they are stuck in that profession forever.
They do not know that there are famous engineering- trained graduates who have gone into other fields.
They do not know that Scott Adams, creator of the iconic 'Dilbert' cartoon; Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon; golfer Annika Sorenstam; sculptor Alexander Calder and film-maker Alfred Hitchcock trained as engineers.
Locally, Ministers Mah Bow Tan and Yaacob Ibrahim are engineering-trained.
In business, there is Mr J.Y. Pillay, ex-chairman of Singapore Airlines and now chairman of the Singapore Exchange; former SingTel chief executive officer Lee Hsien Yang; Creative Technology founder Sim Wong Hoo and investment banker Finian Tan.
And there is Temasek Holdings chief Ho Ching, who was recently named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She has an electrical engineering degree from the then-University of Singapore.
