Netizen defends WP’s Jamus Lim education background after former NMP Calvin Cheng claims he’s not from Harvard University

Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng earlier on had pointed out that the Workers’ Party (WP) is misleading people by stating on its website that WP’s candidate Jamus Lim has a Master qualification in Liberal Arts from Harvard University.

He took to Facebook on Sunday (5 July) highlighting the fact that Mr Lim has attained his Master in Liberal Arts from Harvard Extension School – as stated in Mr Lim’s LinkedIn page – and not from Harvard College.

“This is not Harvard College/GSAS. It is an online school set up by Harvard. The WP page is downright misleading, saying Harvard University, without stating it is the extension school,” Mr Cheng wrote.

FLOP, a pro-PAP Facebook fanpage, then reproduced Cheng’s comment on the issue.

Reacting to this, a Facebook user Chelsea Lim – who happens to be the CEO and Co-Founder of Botbot.AI – defended Mr Lim and said that the quality of education in Harvard Extension School “far surpasses” some in-person universities. She also shared FLOP’s post in her Facebook post.

“I am also from Harvard Extension School. And will it really surprise anyone if I say that the quality of education far surpasses some in-person universities? You’re taught by Harvard instructors (no, not TAs or graduate students),” Ms Lim wrote on Facebook.

Citing her classmates who are now MPs in their home countries, established entrepreneurs and celebrities, she asked Mr Cheng “What does being ‘online’ have to do with it? Must a quality education come in a certain shape and form?”

Ms Lim also acknowledged that the WP’s candidate has stated “ALM, Extension Studies in History (Field: World History)” on his LinkedIn page, which she claimed is not entirely wrong to state it that way, unless if he “edited it in the last couple of days or hours”.

Interestingly, at the time of writing, FLOP has removed its post that supported Cheng’s comment. However, a screenshot of Ms Lim’s post – as seen below – offers a partial view of the no-longer-available post.