Three artists, including Haresh Sharma, dropped from teaching courses at NUS

University says it cancelled their modules due to low enrolment numbers

- Shawn Hoo

The National University of Singapore's (NUS) last-minute cancellation of a playwriting module has left its instructor Haresh Sharma indignant, while other artists have come forward to say they have been similarly informed that their will not proceed as courses planned.

NUS has responded, saying it dropped the courses due to low enrolment numbers.

Sharma, 59, took to Instagram on Aug 12 to say that he was told five days before the start of the course that NUS did not "approve" his appointment. According to Sharma, who has previously taught at NUS, he was told by the university that its decision is "unrelated to issues of qualifications, experience or teaching abilities", and was not given a reason.

"So, you can give me an award but you cannot allow me to teach your students?" he asked in the post. He graduated from NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) in 1990 and was awarded the FASS Distinguished Arts and Social Sciences Alumni Award in 2021.

"What about all the work I've done in preparation for my course?" asked Sharma, who has been the resident playwright of The Necessary Stage since 1990. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion, Singapore's pinnacle cultural accolade, in 2015.

Theatre actress Noorlinah Mohamed, who was the creative producer for National Day Parade 2024, also took to Instagram stories to share a similar account. She co-founded the Singapore Drama Educators Association in 2002 and was the artistic director of Festival of Women N.O.W, a public project led by women collaborators.

She was slated to teach a module on voice studies and production at NUS, which she had taught since 2021, but "received an e-mail worded in the same manner as that described by (Sharma)" in July 2024 that said her appointment was not approved.