Going through the public education system is a rite-of-passage for most Singaporean children. The Singapore education system is highly-regarded world-wide on most measures. School fees are heavily subsidised from kindergarten to Junior College levels. It is generally considered worthwhile for students and parents to 'invest' time, effort and money into this glorious 20-year 'paper chase'. However, the ROIC (Returns On Invested Capital) becomes trickier at the tertiary level. Is it still worthwhile pursuing that part-time degree at a private university like SIM?

Many years ago, one of my friends got a degree from SIM after spending close to S$30k on fees and 3 years of his life.  When I casually probed him about the motivations behind his pursuit of this degree, he gave me the expected answers. "I wanted to make my parents proud. I see many of my friends and relatives are graduates and I want to be like them....