A chorus of complaints has come from Singaporeans, who used to enjoy top-dog praises but now fear being crowded out or out-performed by the harder-working Chinese mainlanders.

With the exception of English, for which they are generally weak, the Chinese are awesome when it comes to technical subjects like Mathematics, Science, Engineering and Information Technology.

They are not the only tough competitors. Others come from Malaysia, India and - in smaller numbers - neighbouring countries in the region.

To the government, it is a promising trend. Singapore wants to be a regional education hub and hopes to convince some of the top foreign scholars to settle here.

But many locals fear they may lose out. In just a few years, the state has attracted 50,000 foreign students, among them Asia's top scholars.

And it's just starting. The goal is to triple the intake to 150,000 (including 50,000 undergraduates) in six years, which would mean plenty of public reassuring.

Despite assurances, some locals are worried that more foreigners (many are on scholarships or grants) may mean fewer places for Singaporeans and draw away resources for them. It could also mean a tougher fight for jobs.

General confidence has taken a knock because of severe job losses during the past few years. In a recent dialogue with junior college, polytechnic and university students, three-quarters of them expressed pessimism about Singapore's future.

Education is rapidly becoming an important part of the new economy. But there is another reason. Every year, several thousand Singaporeans migrate abroad - a trend that is on the rise.

This influx is a replacement for the talent drain. In fact, the political leadership plans for an eventual population of up to eight million.

All this is a bit too far away for the out-performed Singaporeans, who are still worried about jobs which, of course, depend on getting a good degree.

The proportion of foreign students in universities here has risen from 10% (3200) in 1997 to 20% (7700) now. In the engineering and computing schools, the ratios run as high as 40%. At polytechnics, they rose from 7% in 1997 to 11% (8000) currently.

About 100 of the 820 students in the elite Raffles Junior College are foreigners (75% achieved 4A's). At Hwa Chong (Chinese High), another premium institution, the proportion is at least twice the rate.

The foreign presence, beginning from primary and secondary classes to university, has brought vibrancy and higher standards but it is also pushing the already high pressures for locals to match them.

One typical student from China is Yang Zhaoxuan, 20. He came to study at Secondary 3, bagging A's in Maths and Science from the start at Chinese High.

His weakness was English with a C5 but by the time he sat for his A-level, he scored a B3.

Studying was no burden in China, he said. "We had to study very hard - from 7am to 7pm."

He picked up interest in drama and won gold medals in the national Maths Olympiad last year and Physics Olympiad two years ago.

A brighter student was Wu Xia, 20, who made it here after failing to enter the prestigious Beijing University by a mere 10 marks. He was competing with 180,000 students for 100 places at its arts faculty.

Through the Internet, he got into the Singapore Management University (SMU) two years ago, where he mastered English and spicy food.

Students from India, too, often displayed their deep desire to succeed. Like Kaushal Bhalotia, 19, a second-year student in SMU's School of Business, who is also a teaching assistant. He made it to this year's Dean's List for academically bright students and plays cricket to relax.

Many of these foreign students also excel in non-academic contests, sweeping many awards in competitions ranging from chess to sports, drama to designing.

Realising the despair of some Singaporeans, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said keeping out the foreign students was detrimental for Singapore.

"Suppose we did not have them here. Then, of course, Singaporeans will win the top prizes (at universities) - but will we win the top prizes in the real world?

"Has the competition really disappeared, or has the talent just gone to another country where they will compete more strongly against us?"

One local student wrote in the Internet that Indonesian, Chinese and Indian scholars in his faculty all scored "much, much better" than Singaporeans. Generally, they formed the top tier of those with the best academic results in the faculty, he added.

Said another: "I think this is going to hurt but generally local students in the National University of Singapore (except in Law and Medicine) are not very diligent, not very clever, not very motivated, and not very interested in their studies.

"Which is why the foreign students do much better than locals."

Going into the reason, the anonymous writer continued: "In a way, I feel sorry for Lee Kuan Yew. He, as a representative of his generation, had worked so hard to create so much; and now he's getting old and seeing how we young people squander the wealth his generation had built.

"We are the proverbial Third Generation. We love our notebooks, PDAs, handphones, and nightspots too damn much.

"We've lived in prosperity since the Oil Crisis of '78 and never known bad times. We have collectively grown lazy, self-indulgent and slothful."

Do migrants help? Yes, if American history is any indication. It went through three waves of foreign inflows, the last one after World War Two.

With each wave, it was the migrants that carried the country, cause they had the drive to work harder than the prosperous locals - the same true grit shown by foreign students over locals today.

Over the next decade, more of them are likely to pour into Singapore. In them lies the island state's future.

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com (e-mail: cnseah2000@ littlespeck.com )

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