EDUN N-28-34-009 V5

00604

17 Feb 2004

NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF EDUCATION FROM APRIL

1.           Mr Wee Heng Tin, 63, the Director-General of Education in the Ministry of Education, will be retiring on 31 Mar 2004. Miss Seah Jiak Choo, 52, the current Director of Schools will be appointed as Director-General of Education on 1 Apr 2004. Miss Seah will concurrently be Director of Schools.

2.           Mr Wee has agreed to remain associated with the Ministry of Education as an advisor after his retirement. In this capacity, Mr Wee will be advising the Ministry on educational issues.

3.           Mr Wee has had an illustrious career in the Education Service spanning 40 years. He joined the Education Service as a teacher in 1964 and rose to become a principal in 1971. He has served as principal of Dunearn Secondary School, Temasek Junior College and National Junior College. He was appointed Director-General of Education in Dec 1996.

4.           Mr Wee has contributed significantly to the advancement of education in Singapore. As the Director-General of Education, he put in place many initiatives that have had lasting impact on education in Singapore. He played a key role in the formulation of the "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation" vision, the introduction of National Education in schools and the enhancement of teaching using IT through the Masterplan for IT in Education. He also led in the introduction of the School Excellence Model to help schools strive towards excellence in various fields. More recently, Mr Wee played pivotal roles in the review of Mother Tongue languages, the introduction of compulsory education and the review of junior college and upper secondary education.

5.           The Ministry is deeply appreciative of Mr Wee's significant contributions over almost four decades, which have helped to make our education system the highly regarded system that it is today. The Ministry would like to thank Mr Wee for his many years of sterling service to the Ministry and to Singapore.

6.           Mr Wee has also served on a number of statutory boards and councils such as the National University of Singapore Council, the National Institute of Education Council and the Institute of Technical Education Board of Governors.

7.           Miss Seah joined the Education Service in 1977 as a teacher and was appointed as Principal of Tanjong Katong Secondary School in 1990. She subsequently held various senior positions in the Ministry of Education before taking on her current Director of Schools portfolio in 2002.