15 January 2005

Ministry of Education
Addendum to the President's Address
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Minister for Education

1. MOE aims to help every student discover his talents, realise his full potential, and develop a passion for learning that lasts though life. We will nurture among our young a spirit of inquiry and the willingness to think in new ways, solve new problems and create new opportunities for the future.

2. We have introduced greater flexibility and choice in education over the last few years. We will build on these initiatives, to cater to the diverse abilities and interests of our students, in the arts, the sports and in intellectual and professional endeavour. We will provide our teachers with more resources and greater room to inspire our students in these directions. 

NURTURING STUDENTS
3. We will seek to prepare students for life, through a broad-based and holistic education. More opportunities will be provided for students to acquire the skills and habits of mind that foster innovation, and develop strength of character and sound values, through a range of activities and programmes. We will trim curriculum requirements without diluting students' preparedness for further education.  We will also review our pedagogical approaches to go beyond a focus on examinations.   

4. The new A-Level curriculum to be introduced from 2006 will further develop our students' thinking and communication skills, and engage them in greater breadth of learning.

5. More flexibility and choice will be introduced into the curriculum to cater to the varying interests and aptitudes of the students.  MOE will provide greater flexibility in the curriculum and progression for the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) courses.  Schools will also have further autonomy to establish curriculum niches of their own by offering elective modules as well as new 'O' level subjects. 

6. Many of our schools are developing niches of excellence, in the academic area or in the sports and arts.  This will be given further impetus with the introduction of the Programme for School-based Excellence, which will provide additional resources to primary schools to develop distinct strengths of their own.

7. The new NUS High School of Maths and Science and the proposed Arts School will complement the Singapore Sports School in catering to students with special talents in these fields.  They will add to the increasing diversity of the mainstream school sector itself.  Privately-funded secondary schools will also widen the range of educational choices for our students.

8. MOE will seek to ensure that our mother tongue languages remain vibrant and an integral part of Singapore society and identity.  We will dedicate resources to teacher training and curriculum development to implement the recommendations of the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (CLCPRC).  MOE is also conducting a similar review for Malay and Tamil language curricula. 

9. To further encourage a holistic education, we are giving greater recognition to student achievements and talents in areas that are not captured in the national examinations.  Schools and tertiary educations are being given further flexibility to admit such students on their merits, outside the central posting framework.  From 2008, MOE will also issue School Graduation Certificates, which will reflect students' academic and non-academic achievements.  Complementing these changes, the school ranking system has also been refined to encourage a broad-based education.

10. We will continue to help raise the quality of education for children with special needs.  MOE is increasing its support for Special Education (SPED) school infrastructure and providing additional development funding.  SPED schools due for redevelopment will have their new or refurbished school buildings ready by 2008 instead of 2012. To allow children with mild to moderate learning disabilities to benefit from being part of mainstream schools, training in special needs will be provided to selected teachers in designated schools.  This will raise general awareness of the different types of learning disabilities and help teachers identify and manage children with mild learning disabilities.

ENABLING TEACHERS
11. MOE will continue to attract and retain committed, quality teachers, as a key priority in education in coming years.  We will provide more teachers, full-time counsellors, increased manpower grants and greater autonomy to schools over the next 5 years.  These initiatives will allow for more flexible classroom arrangements and provide teachers with more time and space to reflect and develop their own approaches to inspire their students.

12. MOE will continue to expand opportunities for teachers to develop themselves.  Besides formal development courses, MOE will work with the business sector and community to provide teachers more work attachment opportunities, both locally and overseas.  The network of schools overseas for teaching attachments will also be expanded.  Our students will benefit from the fresh perspectives and experiences that these teachers bring back to the classrooms.

 
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
13. MOE will provide more local university places for Singaporeans - from 21% of each primary one cohort in 2003 to 25% by 2010.  As we expand our universities, they will be given greater autonomy and flexibility to develop excellence in research and compete globally.  MOE will put in place an autonomy, governance and funding framework to ensure that the universities are well governed and resourced in this next, exciting phase of their development. Reputable private universities will also provide a wider choice of university education beyond the state-funded sector.

14. Adding to this diverse university landscape, Singapore will have an open university offering degrees in its own name from 2006.  The open university will provide greater opportunities for working adults who are keen to acquire new skills and knowledge, as well as attain higher educational qualifications. 

15. Courses in Polytechnics will become more multi-disciplinary and broad-based, while retaining their core technical strengths.  This will better prepare our students to be versatile and adapt to new jobs and skills quickly.  Polytechnic students can also expect more overseas exposure through short working stints, exchange programmes and community service projects to gain a first-hand appreciation of the vast opportunities and challenges around us.

16. In tandem with the changes in our economy, ITE's training will continue to shift from a predominantly manufacturing focus to a twin focus on both the manufacturing and services sectors. ITE will also be transformed into "One ITE System, Three Colleges", starting with the first regional campus in Simei in 2005.  This will take ITE a major step forward in becoming a centre of excellence in technical education, among the best in the world.