Haresh Sharma playwriting course at NUS lacked numbers to be conducted ‘meaningfully’

SINGAPORE: The playwriting course taught by local playwright Haresh Sharma “lacked sizeable numbers” to be conducted “meaningfully”, said a National University of Singapore (NUS) spokesperson.
The response by the university on Thursday (Aug 15) came after Mr Sharma said that he was told five days before the start of the term that NUS “did not approve” his appointment.

“I’ve been teaching regularly at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for the past few years. But this year I have been dropped without a reason,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
“I’m told that ‘the university’s decision is unrelated to issues of qualifications, experience or teaching abilities’. Then what? Is this how the university treats local artists? What about all the work I’ve done in preparation for my course?” the post read. 
Mr Sharma previously taught a module named Playwriting: Practice and Production. 
On Wednesday, local theatre actress Noorlinah Mohamed also posted about a similar experience. 
In May, she was invited to return to teach the same module she had been teaching for the past few years, Voice Studies and Production.
At the end of July, she received an email worded similarly to the one received by Mr Sharma, she said on Instagram. 
Similarly, she had blocked out the dates to teach the module and prepared the materials.
“And then dropped. No courtesy phone call. No conversation. No thank you for your service. Nothing,” she wrote in her Instagram story. 
NUS said the Voice Studies and Production course is currently being taught by a full-time staff. 
The university did not respond to questions about why Mr Sharma and Ms Noorlinah were only told five days before and at the end of July respectively about not being appointed to teach the course. 
“In running our courses and appointing external instructors to teach selected ones, the faculty considers several factors, including enrollment and the broader curriculum,” said the NUS spokesperson.
“We have reached out to both Mr Haresh Sharma and Ms Noorlinah Mohamed on this matter.”