Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manifesto NUSTLS Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manif

Issue 14: Instilling Community Work Amongst Tamil Community Author: Mr. Bhargav Sriganesh Background • • • • Instilling a spirit of volunteerism in the Indian youths refers to an attempt to make Indian youths in Singapore assist fellow members of their ethnic community. • Various factors including apathy and lack of time preclude Indian youths from volunteering. It must be clarified that SINDA is not the only Indian voluntary or welfare organisation in Singapore. There is a • plethora of other organisations including Indian Community Welfare Centre, Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore Indian Education Trust etc. • Primary Needs of the Indian Community (SINDA 2020: Strategic Review) • • • • • Is there a "Tamil Indian Community" Low enrolment in pre-school education • Indian children from disadvantaged family backgrounds do not enrol for pre-school education. • Lack of financial support and awareness about the importance of pre-school education prevent parents from sending their children to kindergartens. Inadequate early exposure to literacy or numeracy skills • There is a disproportionately high number of Indian students in Focused Language Assistance in Reading (FLAir) programmes. • Without early intervention, inadequate literacy and numeracy skills can hinder the long-term prospects of students in landmark examinations like PSLE. Mathematics performance gap • The main root cause of the overall academic under- performance of Indians stems from a weakness in Mathematics. • Being weak in Mathematics limits Indian students from access to a variety of courses and academic disciplines in tertiary institutions and universities. Low Motivation and drive towards academic excellence • There is a perception that youths, even from the better secondary schools, do not aspire to be amongst the top students. • Other under-performing youths who do not perform well in landmark examinations could be blighted by behavioural issues like addiction to drugs and smoking. Social Issues • Social issues include alcohol and drug addiction, family violence and issues arising from unemployment. • These issues were identified by the Study Group on Indian Social Issues which conducted a survey involving 550 respondents from a cross-section of the Indian community. The Study Group on Indian Social Issues (SGISI) is an independent committee comprising Kalyani Mehta, R.Jayachandran, K. Kesavapany, Arun Mahizhnan, Rajesh Rai, Hernakh Singh, P. Thirunal Karasu and S. Vivakanandan. • • The Indian community in Singapore has always been heterogeneous and therefore it is very difficult to clearly demarcate a “Tamil Indian Community”. Tamils in Singapore consist of only half of the total Indian population in Singapore with the rest belonging to Malayalee, Gujarati, Sindhi, Punjabi communities etc. (Singapore Demographics Profile 2014). Therefore, it is important to make a conceptual clarification regarding the diversity and heterogeneity of the Indian community in Singapore. One of the challenges in fostering unity, cohesion and a sense of common identity amongst the Indians in Singapore is due to a lack of homogeneity. For instance, there are – or at least there is a perception – emerging cleavages between North and South Indians, Hindi and Tamil speakers, new citizens and third or fourth generation citizens in the Indian community (Nicholas 2015). However, the subsequent parts of the write-up will focus broadly on all segments of the Indian community. Views on Volunteerism by Indian Youths Anecdotally, here are some of the oft-quoted responses when Indian youths are asked about whether they see a need to assist the Indian community in Singapore: • Apathy • "I have my own things to do and the Indian community has not done anything for me. In fact, I am paying my contribution to SINDA every month." • This attitude often stems from the "Not in my Backyard Syndrome". • There are Indian youths who believe that the Indian community has not done anything productive for them and therefore it is not their responsibility to assist fellow members of their society in any way. • Ignorance • "Are there organisations like SINDA in Singapore?" • This response is common when youths are vaguely aware about SINDA's flagship projects but their overall understanding of available assistance is very limited. • Lack of Awareness about specific needs of Indian community • There is a perception that the Indian community might not have specific needs. • With a plethora of volunteering opportunities, youths of today need to be convinced that helping the Indian community will be a valuable use of their time. • Time Commitment • As one of the SYLS organisers stated, youths might have the desire but lack the time to volunteer with the Indian community. • They have many extra-curricular commitments "on their plate" and find it difficult to devote time to social causes outside school. • Moreover, Singaporeans as a whole have become more ‘busy’ due to a hectic lifestyle with minimal work-life balance. Issue 14: Instilling Community Work Amongst Tamil Community PAGE 82

Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manifesto NUSTLS Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manif | Page 82