Uzbekistan High Quality (Barbecued) Chicken and Singaporean Education

The best meal (dinner) I had in Uzbekistan was in Sim Sim Restaurant, Tashkent. The restaurant’s signature dish is barbecued chicken. The meat was full of flavour, juicy and cooked to just the right level. I highly recommend the restaurant. The restaurant itself is elegant, both inside and outside.

The restaurant is elegant, and the chicken is tasty

A pleasant surprise awaited us on the other side of the road from the restaurant—TMC Singapore campus 3 in Tashkent. Singapore has exported its private education to Uzbekistan! And why not if it has the enterprising spirit, product, and resources to do so? PISA the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has validated the effectiveness of Singapore’s educational system.

This is the first and only visible Singaporean export to Uzbekistan.

Singapore has punched well above her weight for a small city-state for many years, topping the latest PISA (2022) ranking list in overall score and all three tested subjects. The assessment measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. (Approximately 6,300 students from 85 countries participated in the PISA 2022.) Sound secondary school education provides the foundation for quality tertiary education.

For the first time in the history of tertiary education in Singapore, the National University of Singapore (NUS) broke into the worldwide top 10. According to the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) released on 28 June 2023, NUS ranks 8th globally and 1^st in Asia. On the other hand, Times Higher Education ranks NUS 19^th globally. An effective education system has given Singapore a high quality of life (based on GDP). But are Singaporeans happy?

The answer is yes and no. In the latest World Happiness Report (2024), Singapore ranks first in Asia but could only achieve 30^th place in the overall ranking. Why so? Well, that is another story. But whatever story may unfold, we should be grateful for what we have achieved so far, so enjoy it!