We’re going to take a break from sending you Thoughts for a couple of weeks and will be back on January 3^rd. But before doing this, I thought it only proper to send you on your Xmas way with some good, holiday thoughts about higher education.

One problem: I couldn’t do it. I drew a complete mental blank about how to tie those two concepts together.

Part of the problem was that I had a ridiculously wonderful song in my head. Not festive music – something better:  The Official Song of Malaysia’s National Higher Education Loan Fund Corporation (MP3), which is known in Malay as PTPTN, (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional).

[audio:https://higheredstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LaguPTPTN-with_vocal.mp3]

Seriously, it’s catchy, in an Asian Musak kind of way.

You can check out the original Malay lyrics here, but I feel the Google Translate version (with a little help from me) is poetic enough:

A business of a target
Knowledge to Excel
Education Funding
Generating Human Capital

A noble and pure service
Which espouses the ambition
Of eliminating differences between races, religions and nations

PTPTN
Stand tall
Sound Savings
Integrity with a Human Soul
Mind the Personal Skills Block
Building Civil society
In the Era of Globalization

Is that fantastic, or what?

Anyways, before signing off for the break, I thought I would pose a challenge to all of our devoted readers:  Try your hand at writing a song about the Canada Student Loans Program (or a provincial equivalent), or a ditty about human capital.  Entries to be judged on artistic merit, humour, and the ability to include ludicrous economic or bureaucratic jargon in the body of the song.

Come January, I will publish the best entrants, and the winner gets to choose the topic of a One Thought to Start Your Day.

Happy Holidays, and see you in January.