8 February 1999

1. The Republic of Singapore is honoured to host the 34th Conference of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Council. On behalf of the Ministers assembled, may I thank His Excellency President Ong for his presence and opening address today. I would also like to warmly welcome all Ministers and delegation members to Singapore and to this Conference. Thank you for your presence and participation.

2. His Excellency Pehin Dato Haji Abdul Aziz Umar, the President of SEAMEC is not able to attend the Conference and the Opening Ceremony. He would like me to convey his deepest regrets to Your Excellencies and distinguished guests. Pehin Aziz has requested that I act on his behalf.

3. As Acting President of SEAMEC, let me briefly touch on the achievements and activities of SEAMEO. I am happy to note that Myanmar joined SEAMEO in February last year. With the inclusion of Myanmar, all ten Southeast Asian countries are now members of SEAMEO and this will further SEAMEO’s mission to boost regional cooperation in education, science and culture.

4. Most of our programmes have been conducted through our 14 Regional Centres, each specialising in a competence area. The recent additions are SEAMEO Regional Centre for Open Learning in Indonesia and SEAMEO Regional Training Centre in Vietnam. Every Regional Centre has been a magnet for local, regional and even international experts in education, science and technology. Each centre is focused on reaching out to share knowledge for the benefit of the country it is in and to SEAMEO countries. They have also been establishing closer linkages among SEAMEO countries through their projects, like the SEAMEO Regional Schools Internet project and Community Involvement project.

5. SEAMEO’s success in raising the quality of life in our countries can be attributed to its professionalism and the synergy arising from the network of centres and its network with other organisations around the world. The other key success factors are its non-profit nature and its strong sense of mission. Yet, it has carefully avoided the common pitfalls of organisations. It has remained relevant by continuously being able to change with the times, by being efficiency-conscious, cost-effective and pragmatic. For instance, the Centres and the Secretariat have been working on plans to enhance its operational efficiency and effectiveness by developing management information systems and marketing strategies.

6. I am heartened to note that SEAMEO member countries and associate member countries remain committed to SEAMEO and its activities despite the economic slowdown in the region. The continuous support of associate member countries towards human resource development during this period is appreciated. This demonstrates that we all recognise the critical role that good education plays in economic development and social progress. SEAMEO, through its efforts in seeking out and creating opportunities for cooperation in education, science and culture, has done much for the Southeast Asian countries to help one another for mutual benefit.

7. Even as we strive to overcome today’s economic problems, there is growing urgency for our education systems to be forward-looking; and be geared for the future. Educationists are not soothsayers, but we must all try our best to ensure our education systems remain relevant with the times so that our young will be ready for the future, no matter what shape it takes. The best test of the effectiveness of our education systems lies in how well we prepare the younger generation for the future they will live in. The challenge in our fast-changing world is to equip them for life, not just for the next examination.

8. This is a challenge in the best of times, and a greater challenge still when resources are limited. But I believe that it is in difficult times that human ingenuity rises to the challenge. By thinking up creative ways around our problems, we can raise the quality of our education for our young within the limits of our resource constraints.

9. Spending money on hardware, like school infrastructure is important, but hardware is only part of the story. There is much we can do in the "software" which can make a significant difference in the quality of education. Let me name three areas. They are Strategic Directions, Curriculum and Learning, and Organisational Arrangement.

10. Strategic Directions refers to what we need to emphasise in our education system after surveying the broad outlook and emerging trends. We cannot change the direction of the wind. But we can adjust the sails periodically to ensure we are heading in the right direction. Otherwise we might realise too late that we are totally off course.

11. For education to remain relevant to the needs of the society which it serves, it has to be responsive to the changing environment. Even as we work on daily challenges in the education system, we should set up systems to survey key trends from a long-term vantage point. Once we have drawn up the strategic directions, the quality of our policy-making and decisions will be much higher. They will be aligned to the strategic intent. What for example do we teach in geography and history, and in languages to prepare for a globalised economy. How do we exploit the potential of information technology in a world where its use is becoming all-pervasive. How much emphasis do we give to science and technology in the face of rapid technological changes.

12. The next area we can turn our minds to is Curriculum and Learning. Educationists need to ask ourselves what we want the young to learn and how they learn it. The answers will depend to a large extent on the needs of society. If our aim is to prepare for the future, we will have to ensure that the curriculum is future-oriented. It has to take into account the rapid explosion of knowledge. But teaching more content is not always better or possible, given the limited time available in the school year or school day. Paradoxically it may be better to teach less content and spend more time on process skills such as independent learning. Advances in new inter-disciplinary areas will raise serious questions about our approach to the teaching of the different subject disciplines. Do we continue to teach each subject on its own, without integrating them?

13. The third area we can seek improvements in is Organisational Arrangements. This refers to how we organise the management of schools, which can have an impact on the quality of schools. We can give schools total autonomy or practise centralised control. We can devolve authority to hire and fire teachers, set the syllabus, and so on, from the federal to the provincial, local or school levels. We can appoint company managers to run schools. We can give community and parents more say in local school management. There are countless organisational permutations. Our ability to reorganise for greater efficiency and effectiveness is only limited by our thinking.

14. Our governments and educational organisations have all been thinking about these three issues that I have outlined. There is much scope for sharing and learning from one another. In addition to the discussions that we will be having during our plenary sessions, bilateral meetings and as we meet and exchange ideas in the hallways, we hope that the 34th SEAMEC Conference can contribute to these efforts in two further ways.

15. First, exploring how Information Technology (IT) will play a major role in education in the future. Singapore is hosting the Educational Technology Conference 1999 from 9 to 11 February, in conjunction with the 34th SEAMEC Conference. We hope that all of you will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony and visit the Exhibition that will be held tomorrow. EdTech 99 is a platform for the exchange of ideas, including current and future thinking on technology in education. It also provides an opportunity for local and international educators to keep abreast of the latest developments in educational technology.

16. Second, we have provided all delegates with an opportunity to visit several schools tomorrow afternoon. We hope these visits can be springboards for more ideas to emerge, and for mutual learning to take place.

17. Let me in closing, wish you a comfortable and enjoyable stay in Singapore. I hope that you will find the conference arrangements to your satisfaction, and your participation at the 34th SEAMEC Conference a worthwhile and fruitful experience.