RVHS_H1_General Paper_P2_QP_Insert

RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 1 JC2 Preliminary Examination GENERAL PAPER Paper 2 INSERT 8807/02 30 August 2023 1 hour 30 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST This Insert contains the passage for Paper 2. This document consists of 3 printed pages and 1 blank page.

2 RVHS 2023 8807/02/Insert/JC2Prelims Becky Frankiewicz argues why we need to rethink the current model of university education. 1 On the surface, universities are a nice idea. People go in, pick a subject they like, learn from the experts, and leave being job-ready and future-read y young adults. This is why so many people decide to go to college, even if it mean s making big financial and personal sacrifices. Yet just because so many people are doing it does not mean it is necessarily a good thing to do. In fact, while there is gen erally a cost – in terms of employment prospects – of not having a college degree, there are not always cle ar competitive advantages in having one, particularly if alm ost half of the population has one. The reality is that many people today find the be nefits of higher education underwhelming. 5 2 Most university graduates have very fond memories of their years i n college. Unfortunately, most graduates also have memories – more recent and significantly less fond – of the challenges they face when they enter the labour market as well as the frustrations employers express when dealing with them and fi nding them unprepared for the workplace despite being successful in the classroom. And n o one is spared these challenges: even graduates from top programmes today spend a great deal of time trying to find appealing jobs, and they always en d up having to compromise with their choices. 10 15 3 Students have unrealistic (but understandable) demands of college . They enter college with the blind faith that having a university degree wil l give them a better chance of succeeding in life . After all, irrespective of their global ranking, all universities market themselves as an engine of growth, employability, and succe ss, and a college education is still a promise to upgrade someone ’s talent. This inevitably sets a high bar that is just not feasible to fulfil at scale. Not everyo ne can be a leader, a CEO, a manager, or a highly sought-after knowledge worker. By any objective measure, we have come a long way in the past 100 years, transitioning from monotonous assembly lines and routine jobs to flexible and meaningful careers. But let us not forget that it is just not possible to give everyone their dream job. If o ur career aspirations surpass the available opportunities and our self-perceived talents excee d our actual talents, we are surely destined to be miserable at work. Perhaps this explains the prevalence of low employee engagement ratings despite more emphasis on worker well-being.