Home > Media Centre > Speeches Printer-friendly page

Speech by RADM Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence and MP for Pasir Ris GRC at Edusave Merit Bursary/Edusave Scholarship/CCC-Polytechnic and University Award Presentation Ceremony on Sunday, 22 Dec 1997 at Loyang Secondary School

A very good morning and welcome to the award recipients and their proud families.

1. I am happy to see all of you especially the families who are here to give encouragement and support to the award recipients. It shows the important role that families play in supporting our pupils to do well academically. It also shows the high regard that Singaporean families have for education.

2. Education is the primary route by which we mould the Singapore of tomorrow. For the individual, education provides him with the values, mind-sets, knowledge and skills to become a responsible member of his family, a useful person in society and a good citizen.

3. The Government invests heavily in the education of our young. Government expenditure on education, on the primary and secondary schools, ITE, polytechnics and universities, amount to $5.2 billion for FY 1997.

Edusave - Levelling Up Through Investment in Education

1. In 1993, the Government set up the Edusave Endowment Fund with an initial capital sum of $1 billion. Over the years, with strong economic growth and prudent fiscal policies, the Government has been able to generate enough surpluses each year to make additional contributions to the fund. Today, the capital sum of the Fund stands at $5 billion.

2. The purpose of the fund is to "level up" the education of Singaporeans, by:
   1. maximising and equalising educational opportunities,
   2. enhancing the quality of education, and
   3. motivating pupils to excel academically.

3. The capital sum of the Edusave Endowment Fund is not used, so that it can continue to generate a steady stream of income for us to invest in education over the long term. Interest earned on the capital sum is used to level up educational opportunities.

4. For 1997, the Government has committed to distribute $130 million from the income generated for three main purposes.

5. First, the Ministry of Education makes a contribution to the individual Edusave accounts of every Singaporean pupil in primary and secondary schools and ITE. The pupils can make use of these funds for enrichment programmes, second-tier miscellaneous fees, autonomous school fees and tertiary tuition fees. In 1997, the value of such contributions amounts to $64 million.

6. Second, MOE gives out Edusave grants direct to the schools to help fund programmes to improve the quality of learning and teaching. Principals may decide to hire specialists to conduct ECA or enrichment activities for the benefit of their pupils. In 1997, these grants amount to $35 million.

7. All pupils benefit from these first two types of Edusave grants provided to the individual Edusave accounts of all pupils, and to our schools. This is three quarters of the $130m being distributed from Edusave in 1997.

8. The remaining one quarter, or $31m, of Edusave funds being distributed this year will be used for four awards to encourage our pupils to strive for academic excellence. More than 124 thousand students in our schools, ITE, polytechnics and universities will receive these awards.

9. In other words, all our students benefit directly from Edusave, and in addition about one-quarter of the students in our educational institutions benefit from these incentive awards from the Edusave Endowment Fund.

Edusave Awards to Encourage Academic Excellence

1. There are four types of awards to encourage academic excellence.

2. The Edusave Scholarships for primary and secondary students are designed to reward academic excellence. Pupils are selected for these scholarships regardless of their family circumstances. This is in line with our emphasis on meritocracy. 30,000 students will receive these scholarships. The total value of such scholarships is $14 million.

3. The Edusave Merit Bursaries for primary, secondary and ITE students is to motivate students from lower-middle and low-income homes to do better academically. Pupils who are within the top 25% of each level and stream and whose household income is below $3,000 per month are eligible to apply for the bursary. This merit bursary gives recognition to pupils from less well-off homes who do well academically and encourages them to strive further. It underlines the important role that education plays in social mobility. 52,000 students will receive these bursaries. The total value of such merit bursaries is $11 million.

4. A new award, called the Good Progress Award, was introduced this year to reward pupils who have made significant improvement in their academic studies. The award is to recognise and motivate those who are not eligible for the Edusave scholarships and bursaries but have nevertheless worked hard. 42,000 students will receive these awards. A total of $5 million will be given out. This award will be given out by the schools.

Role of Community in Education

1. The fourth type of awards are the CCC-Tertiary Awards. More young Singaporeans are going into post-secondary and tertiary education, and it is a very proud and happy moment for their families, neighbours and friends to see them moving up the education ladder.

2. For the community, having more of these students in their midst will help them produce future leaders who can contribute to the well-being of the community.

3. In recognition of this feeling of community spirit and pride, CCCs have joined hands with the Government to offer the CCC-Tertiary awards to 3,500 students this year.

Conclusion

1. The Government will continue to invest heavily in the education of our young. We will work hand-in-hand with the community and families to encourage our young to take full advantage of the opportunities available and do their best.

2. In closing, I would like to congratulate the scholarship, merit bursary and award winners for the fine work that they have put in over the past year, and to wish you well in your studies. To your proud families, I would like to say "thank you" for your support and encouragement to our award winners. Your sacrifices, effort and love are well worth it.

Appendix

SUMMARY OF EDUSAVE ALLOCATION FOR 1997