8 October 1999

1. The wealth of Singapore lies in our people – our values and instincts, our courage and tenacity, our skills and competencies. Our success in the future depends on how well we prepare our people for the challenges ahead. Singapore has always placed a premium on education, and we will continue to invest heavily in our young.

2. MOE will move toward ability-driven education to help each individual recognise and make use of his talents and abilities. This has two components.

4. We will put in place a conducive school environment to achieve the Desired Outcomes of Education which focuses on holistic development of the pupil as an individual and as a citizen. We will focus not just on the physical environment but also on systems and structures that impact on how teaching and learning takes place.

5. School Facilities. We will provide adequate school facilities that support a broad range of educational activities. Under the Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools (PRIME), existing schools will be upgraded or rebuilt to current standards over the next 7 years. New facilities will include computer laboratories, media resource libraries, pastoral care rooms and health and fitness rooms. All schools will be provided with an integrated IT infrastructure. Every child will learn in an IT-enriched school environment.

6. School Autonomy. More administrative and professional autonomy will be progressively given to schools. School leaders will have greater flexibility in making decisions at the local level. They will be equipped with the necessary IT systems, resources and training to support them. The cluster concept, under which 7-9 schools are grouped together, will be progressively implemented across all schools over the next few years.

7. School Appraisal. We have adopted a quality assurance approach to school appraisal based on self-appraisal. Schools will assess themselves on their approach (how outcomes will be achieved), deployment (extent to which approach is applied) and results (degree of achievement of outcomes). Schools which achieve excellence will be appropriately recognised.

8. We will tailor our curriculum to teach our young to think creatively and apply knowledge innovatively.

9. We are revising our curriculum to infuse thinking skills and incorporate the use of IT in the design and delivery of syllabuses. These new syllabuses will be phased in from 2001 onwards, along with systemic changes to teaching strategies and learning resources. To provide students with opportunities to integrate knowledge, skills and values learnt in class, project work will be implemented in a non-assessment mode in all schools by 2001.

10. We will review our system of assessments to meet our objective of developing creative independent learners. The new university admissions system to be implemented from 2003, for example, will not rely solely on A-level results but instead make a more holistic evaluation of a person’s potential.

11. We will deliver National Education in a variety of ways, taking into account what the students are able to appreciate and identify with.

12. Initial Teacher Training. We will prioritise what is covered in the short period for initial teacher-training, focusing on getting values right from the start. Schools will then be responsible for the induction of teachers. From January 2000, new teachers will have 80% of the normal responsibility load in their first year so that they can undergo on-the-job training and settle into the multi-faceted demands of the job.

13. Continual Teacher Training. Teachers will attend core upgrading courses to keep abreast of the latest knowledge and skills. Training will be in modular form. Teachers can chalk up credits from in-service modules that count towards the award of higher qualifications. We will provide opportunities for non-graduate teachers to pursue degrees.

14. The National Institute of Education. NIE will build up its capacity to provide continual teacher training, including in-service courses, leadership and management programmes, and postgraduate degree programmes, to sharpen the professionalism of our school leaders and teachers.

15. Attracting and Retaining Good Teachers. Our target is to recruit from the top one-third of each cohort. MOE will proactively market teaching scholarships and awards, and look into ways to improve the terms and conditions of service as well as look after the well-being of our teachers.

16. Pre-School Education. We will be more involved in pre-school education, investing in curriculum design and teacher-training, conducting research and tightening regulation. A pilot research will be conducted to ascertain the most effective way for MOE to work with pre-school centres to prepare children for school learning.

17. Arts Education. To expand the range of post-secondary educational opportunities available and to support Singapore’s development as a vibrant city, we have extended funding for the Diploma courses conducted by the LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. We will also support the development of new or upgraded facilities for these institutions. A new Institute of the Arts (ITA) will be set up in NUS to conduct degree-level performing arts programmes in 2001.

18. Expanding University Education. A third university, the Singapore Management University (SMU), will admit its first intake of students in AY 2000. SMU will work with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in the design of its undergraduate business curriculum, and tap the expertise of Wharton staff in its institutional development. The Wharton-SMU Research Centre will be established in Singapore to boost international business research, with a specific focus on the Asian region.

19. Developing World-Class Universities. NUS has broadened undergraduate education through Cross-Faculty Modules and introduced the Honours Core Curriculum Programme, while NTU has structured programmes to expose students beyond their fields of specialisation. Postgraduate studies and research will be expanded. The universities will benchmark their practices, processes and systems against world-class universities.

20. Continual Education and Training. To support the Manpower 21 blueprint, MOE is developing a framework for the post-secondary and tertiary institutions, particularly ITE and the polytechnics, to perform the dual functions of pre- and in-employment training.

21. Attracting Foreign Talent. A good education system is a magnet for top students overseas. We will provide adequate resources to meet the needs of foreign students, in addition to, and not at the expense of, resources for our local students.

22. Forging Partnerships. Our tertiary institutions will forge partnerships with other organisations. The polytechnics and ITE will collaborate with industries in terms of joint industrial projects and providing continual education and training for the workforce. NUS, NTU and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have established the Singapore-MIT Alliance to collaborate in the field of postgraduate engineering education and research. Other collaborations include the joint PhD and Master’s programmes in clinical research offered by NUS/NUH and Johns Hopkins University.

	the school environment;
	the curriculum and assessment systems;
	teacher development;
	pre- and post-school education; and
	developing Singapore as an Education Hub.