30 December 1999

ADDRESS BY RADM (NS) TEO CHEE HEAN,MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & 2nd MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE APPOINTMENT CEREMONY FOR PRINCIPALS ON THU 30 DEC 99 AT THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE BALLROOM 3 @ 3 PM

This second appointment ceremony for principals is an especially auspicious one. Those of you who are appointed today will lead schools into the new millennium. Today, we will be appointing a total of 78 "Millennium Principals". Of these, 45 are new appointments, that is, individuals who assume school leadership for the first time and 33 are incumbent Principals going on to lead other schools.

In less than 48 hours, we will cross into the year 2000. The new millennium brings a great sense of anticipation – of exciting new challenges, in a world that seems to grow smaller and spin faster; of a more fulfilling and better life. Let us use this occasion to reflect on the challenges which lie ahead.

If there is one major trend that pervades every aspect of life in Singapore and beyond, it is globalisation. In more ways than we could imagine just a few years ago, the world is becoming a smaller place. We are perhaps most familiar with globalisation in its most visible form - the penetration of global brands in consumer products and services. A young Japanese boy who saw McDonald's while on a visit to the United States supposedly said to his parents: "You mean they have McDonald's over here too?" Many of us may be forgiven for thinking that Bata is a local shoe company. It was actually founded in Czechoslovakia in 1894.

Modern transport and communications have facilitated the movement of goods, people and ideas, drawing the world closer together. This has caused us to re-look at the way we interact with the modern world. One example is the growing use of English as the language of international transactions. Today, by some estimates, more people in China are learning English than there are Americans. In my recent visits to Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, they too are grappling with how to balance teaching in their own languages and how best to equip their students with the ability to communicate with the outside world. Many young people there are clamouring to learn English. Another example is the spread of the Internet, which creates virtual communities of like-minded individuals who may physically be in different parts of the world. Yet another example is the ubiquitous CNN. It does not matter where you are or what time it is, CNN will bring you the news as seen through American eyes every half an hour, all through the day and night.

What I have just described are merely the symptoms of globalisation. It is being driven by advances in technology, particularly innovations in computerisation, miniaturisation, telecommunication and digitisation. Such innovations are in turn driven by the most fundamental of driving forces - the basic human aspiration for a better life, a life with choices.

It is not possible to stop globalisation. Singapore has chosen not to fight globalisation, but to embrace it. Education is absolutely key in ensuring that we are well prepared to meet the two challenges of globalisation. First, how do we ensure that we are ready for the future, for the world, whatever happens? Second, how do we retain our distinctive identity as a Singaporean community, and as the constituent communities making up Singaporean society?

The Ministry of Education and our educational institutions have been pondering these issues for the last few years. Today, we have in place a road-map and key sign-posts. We have re-affirmed once again our belief in holistic education, as stated in the Desired Outcomes of Education. We have outlined for ourselves the vision of "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation". We have put flesh to this vision by implementing new programmes and initiatives, like IT in education, National Education and curriculum review. We will be introducing a new university admission system and a new school appraisal system.

Perhaps getting the road-map and sign-posts set up was the easier part. The more difficult part is - how do we lead our charges on the road ahead? How do we equip them to chart new courses, to modify the road-map as they move along? The answer lies in the quality of the orienteering leaders, leaders like yourselves.

As education leaders, you are running schools to nurture young people today who will work, serve and play in the world of tomorrow –a world which will be very different from today’s. In order to prepare our young for life 20-50 years down the road, you need to have:

Having one or two of these qualities will not be sufficient. You need all three. For if you have passion plus vision, but no action – you are daydreaming. If you have vision plus action, but no passion – you will be mediocre. If you have passion plus action, but no vision – you will achieve the wrong goal, or drive your teachers up the wall.

Let me now talk a little about each of these qualities. First – VISION. A leader is far more than a manager. The most effective and sustainable way to achieve something is to start with a clear vision, one which has at its core, an overarching purpose, a mission. Without purpose or mission, a vision is no more than a grandiose dream. Better still, the vision should reach beyond the here and now, to paint a picture of what is possible, what will excite the imagination and give people something special to work towards, something they do not yet know how to do, but something which they can be proud of when they achieve it. Remember jig-saw puzzles: they are much easier when you can see the whole picture first. The how will fall in place along the way.

You are in the business of people. You work with people, through people, for people. Your ideas can only be pursued through people. Therefore you must be able to bring your teachers, non-teaching staff, students, parents and community along with you. You need to inspire them. You need to paint a vibrant picture of the final destination.

By listening carefully to your people, you will be able to give a voice, a form to what every teacher wants to create deep inside but was never able to articulate on his own. You also need to reassure and comfort them. An effective leader is one who can point the way and give your people a hint of how to go about their tasks, then give them the support to surpass themselves. The best thing you can do as a school leader is to create the environment that will unleash the best creative energies and initiative of your people. The more your vision serves others, the more powerful it will be.

The world is not going to stop changing. The changes will become more rapid. The research institutes, business world, manufacturing and services companies have all responded to this phenomenon. Companies which respond faster, adapt more quickly to the new knowledge economy, survive. Those who are slow off the starting block, are unlikely to survive. Young, enterprising people who can spot opportunities and have the passion and drive to pursue them, become millionaires overnight when their start-ups mature and are bought over or are listed.

As education leaders, we too need to respond. Otherwise we do our young a big disfavour. When we see schooling as preparation for life and for nation-building, we will run our schools and our school programmes with a greater sense of purpose. We need to keep one eye trained on the trends unfolding in Singapore, regionally and globally, and also on new developments in pedagogical research. This is to keep up-to-date with the skills, capabilities and knowledge our young will need. We need to keep the other eye on our students. Each generation is different – the way they learn, behave, their values and their interests. We have to sensitise our teachers to emerging trends and evolve our school programmes accordingly.

The new breed of school leaders must therefore be ENTREPRENEURS in education. Entrepreneurs have PASSION. Passion can turn any challenge into opportunity. Passion is unbridled power to move your lives forward to reach your goals. This will give you the self-confidence to proceed with what you firmly believe in. Develop areas of excellence in your school based on the strengths of your staff, the type of students you have and your unique set of talents and abilities.

MOE will do its part by setting broad directions, not detailed instructions. We want to grant more autonomy to schools. This is to enable thinking schools led by able leaders to emerge, so that we can mass customise education to nurture the talents and abilities in each child. The challenge for school leaders is to break new ground. Spot opportunities and seize them. Do not be risk-averse. But do your sums properly. Yesterday’s equation for success will not hold true for tomorrow. Do not be cowed by failure. Turn them into learning opportunities. Tolerate mistakes of your teachers committed in good faith. Use these as stepping stones for success. Learn from other people – why some succeeded and others did not. See how you can apply the principles in your school situation.

In the knowledge economy, practical creativity, innovation, being able to add value before anyone else can, are valued. In life, problems are not clearly defined and there is no one right solution. Success comes to the person who can define the problem well and find the best solution faster, even with only partial information; not to the one who can only wait to be told the ‘right’ answer.

I believe that an effective school leader has three types of intelligence and uses the right balance in various circumstances. There is creative intelligence, analytical intelligence and practical intelligence. Each one of us can be more effective by developing these 3 aspects and learn what balance to use in different circumstances for effective ACTION.

Creative intelligence enables one to be flexible – to see from a variety of viewpoints, and also how others view issues and problems. Analytical intelligence helps you to process data and information, and more importantly, derive accurate conclusions. Practical intelligence gives you an understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses – how to capitalise on your strengths and correct or make up for your weaknesses by say, tapping on the strengths of others. To build up your practical intelligence, you must have a good feel of matters on the ground. While MOE can tackle the overall structures and systems, what happens in each school depends on the judgement of the Principal.

Therefore, the Principal has to be an INNOVATOR. He takes effective ACTION to find solutions, makes long and short term decisions in the school. He works with his staff, harnessing the team’s strengths to find good solutions. In certain cases, packaged solutions are not suitable and he and his team have to craft innovative solutions.

In short, our expectations of what a Principal should be are high, and deservedly so. A Principal should be a leader of people, an entrepreneur and an innovator.

The Principal Appointment Ceremony is a solemn occasion to remind all of us here that each of us has the responsibility of stewardship of a school during our term in office. Principalship does not rest on the concept of tenure, but on the continued quest for excellence.

In today’s ceremony, we are appointing 45 new Principals. This batch is the best crop of new appointees that we have ever had. And the Director of Schools assures me that next year’s crop will be even better. This must be the way. Each year, we improve on our leadership training and development. Potential school leaders go through a rigorous selection process. Our new appointees must get better with each year. Nonetheless, all will have to go through baptism of fire, to accumulate the experience, develop the instincts and gain the wisdom that can only come from being in schools and actually running schools.

Next year, 33 serving Principals will be moving to head different institutions, about the same number as in previous years. This is part of our leadership development process. The skills of a good Principal are honed by deep involvement in building up a school, and by having the opportunity to work with different types of schools. Movement allows for renewal of ideas and gives fresh perspectives, providing new opportunities for development and improvement for our Principals and the schools they lead.

To ensure that we have a good pool of people with leadership potential, MOE must continue to attract and retain a good share of talent to teach in our schools and eventually to lead our schools. MOE will be making further improvements to the Education Scheme of Service from 1st January next year. We will be introducing additional promotional opportunities for both the General and the Senior Education Officers. New salary grades will be introduced at the GEO and SEO grades.

Classroom teachers can look forward to faster and earlier first promotions. Teachers will now have two promotions before they reach the career classroom teacher grade. The new SEO grade will offer better salary progression in the Upper Timescale levels before officers reach the Superscale levels.

In closing, I would like to congratulate all Principals appointed today and urge you to rise to the challenge of your new responsibilities. We depend on each one of you to discharge your duties with flair, courage and diligence, because ultimately it is you who determine how effective our education system is in moulding the lives of our young.

Nobody can guarantee a bright future for Singapore. As educationists, you are in a privileged position to do something about it. You truly can claim to be able to predict the future because you play a part in helping to create it. At the dawn of the new millennium, renew your commitment to build the best possible home for Singaporeans through leadership, enterprise and innovation.