26 September 2001

SPEECH BY RADM TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AT THE MOE WORK PLAN SEMINAR 2001 ON WEDNESDAY, 26 SEP 2001 AT THE UNIVERSITY CULTURAL CENTRE @ 9.15 AM

1. Education is key to both the economic and social viability of Singapore as a nation. PM in his Teachers' Day Rally speech underscored this by highlighting the important role of education in realising our vision of a New Singapore.

2. For Singapore to succeed, our schools must be able to equip Singaporeans to compete in the global marketplace characterised by rapid technological change. They must nurture future generations of Singaporeans with a global mindset and strong national values.

3. As educationists, we share the responsibility of building up Singapore's human and social capital so that as individuals, we are prepared for the knowledge based economy, and as a nation, we are strong and cohesive.

4. If we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that human capital - the skills, discipline, organisational talents, culture, inner values and attitudes that guide a population - makes all the difference. The physical devastation of German and Japanese industrial cities during World War Two did not prevent either nation from rising from the rubble to become major industrial powers in the post war world. In the US, penniless refugees from Cuba, Korea or Vietnam have begun in the most menial occupations and within one generation produced a business owning middle class.

5. A people's human capital is ultimately the decisive factor in the competitive economic war of nations. Physical capital and financial power are transient, can be accumulated and must be replenished. The real source of wealth is the ability to produce - human capital - not the inventory of goods, equipment or paper assets. This is all the more true in a KBE where knowledge dictates economic possibilities.

6. The future lies open to all those with the strength of character, necessary skills and right attitudes. Schools are the nurseries for these to be imbued in our students. You have to find new ways of helping students understand the complexity and unpredictability of life in the knowledge society. You have to shift emphasis away from the old industrial models on which schools were based - the model of the factory, processing raw materials into a product that met standardised quantity and quality requirements - and away from the metaphor of the machine - well-oiled, with everything controlled hierarchically controlled from the top. Schools have to become learning organisations in the fullest sense, open to new ideas and drawing upon a wider range of learning resources in their communities and beyond.

7. Our learning processes must be child-focused, and nurture the best in every student, developing their strengths across a variety of areas and cultivating an attitude to learning that is active and ongoing throughout life. Our schools have to prepare tomorrow's Singaporeans for life in a global world, as well as root them to our nation.

8. Schools must therefore also help develop Social Capital, the connections between individuals or the glue that binds us together, and strengthen the social networks and norms of reciprocity and trust among Singaporeans. Even as Education expands the horizons of our pupils and opens up new possibilities, it must also develop our sense of identity and give young people a sense that they are stakeholders, together, in a wider society.

9. A society characterised by mutual trust and obligation is stronger, more cohesive and efficient. Social Capital will become even more important because there will be greater stresses to our social fabric as we transit to a knowledge economy. While globalisation has been a force for economic integration, it also has the potential to pull a community apart. It takes time for a society and an entire population to catch up with the radical changes in the composition of work and in the demands for new skills and knowledge. People may be left behind in the shift to knowledge work.

10. At the same time, geographic and occupational mobility mean that people no longer stay in the place, class or culture where they were born. The experience of community is also moving from traditional groups like sporting and social clubs, and places of worship to more remote and faceless forums like the Internet. The sense of place and face-to-face ties that once defined our identity is increasingly under threat.

11. Schools remain a vital and common meeting point for many in the community. Schools are where our future is built. Where our children learn to play with each other, live with each other, and work together to achieve common goals; where we seek out the basic goodness and humanity which are common to all our faiths and cultures, to bring our children together. We have been successful in having an easy and relaxed relationship among our communities in Singapore. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States, we should explain to our students that terrorism, where innocent persons are deliberately taken hostage or killed is wrong, whoever it is perpetrated by.

12. Community spirit and togetherness is built from the ground up. In these times when global events can impinge upon our social cohesion, we are not helpless. We can each in our small way, do our part. Let us all make the extra effort to reach out to our fellow Singaporeans to re-affirm the bonds of friendship and community that we have built over the years.

13. Schools should build on their centrality in the neighbourhood and constituency to make themselves an indispensable feature of community life. By encouraging civic engagement among our young, schools play a crucial role in sustaining community bonds, developing the habit of working towards collective goals and strengthening a sense of active citizenship. By forging links with the community and adding value to the common good by participating in community projects, schools help build a civil society underpinned by mutual support, co-operation, and respect, secure from social and sectarian tensions.

14. 4 years since the launch of our vision of "Thinking Schools Learning Nation", our schools have progressed on both fronts of preparing our people for the KBE and strengthening social cohesion. To meet the challenges of the future, we embarked on a fundamental re-orientation towards an Ability Driven Education and initiated improvements in curriculum, school management and infrastructure.

15. The major pieces of an education system to prepare Singapore and Singaporeans for the competitive and complex future are in place. The Work Plan Seminars over the past three years communicated the rationale for the paradigm shift towards an Ability Driven Education, mapped out the new landscape of learning, affirmed the key strategic thrusts under the new paradigm, and set out how an Ability Driven Education could happen. Today, we are all acutely aware of the challenges facing us; we share and are motivated by a clear and powerful vision for education in Singapore; we have a collective understanding of what needs to be done.

16. For this year's seminar, we will examine the crucial question of how we can best deploy and utilise our resources to do the things we have set out to do and examine the key challenges ahead so that we can continually review what we are doing to remain relevant.

17. We are investing the necessary resources to build up and sustain an Ability Driven Education. PM reiterated in his Teachers' Day Rally speech that we will spend more on education, increasing it to 4.5% of GDP from the current 3.6%. We will use the resources on developing both our human as well as the physical capital that we invest in education.

18. As education is ultimately a human enterprise, teachers are our most precious resource. The introduction of EduPac helps ensure that schools have the good teachers they need. EduPac allows us to attract and retain our fair share of talent, provides opportunities for their continual development, and extends the influence of our best teachers. One of the key elements under EduPac is the development of the Teaching Track, which recognises the centrality of teaching excellence to all that we are trying to do in education. The teaching track creates a new pinnacle appointment of Master Teacher, and doubles the number of Senior Teacher posts in each school. As Master and Senior Teachers are the key positions on the Teaching Track, the Ministry of Education has worked out a formal accreditation system for progression to these levels. Classroom teachers who want to progress to the higher levels of Senior and Master Teachers must meet certain threshold criteria in terms of skills, knowledge, performance and competencies.

19. For example, Master and Senior teachers must be able to show professional expertise in developing their pupils holistically and fostering positive relations with community and parents, and demonstrate strong pedagogical skills and content mastery. More importantly, the influence of Senior Teachers will extend beyond their classrooms and that of Master Teachers beyond their schools to the clusters. These teachers will have the added responsibility of helping to develop other teachers to help their students learn better, and raise the overall quality of education. The Senior Teacher will serve as a mentor to the younger teachers in his school and share with the teachers his expert knowledge and experience. The Master Teachers will serve as a resource at the cluster level, and provide guidance and advice to other teachers at the cluster level. In so doing, we optimise the talents of our most able teachers.

20. Principals have already been briefed of this accreditation framework. Details will be released to schools this week.

21. Today, more than ever, our students enjoy greater access to the most up to date facilities and learning resources. We have improved schools infrastructure through the implementation of the IT Masterplan in 1997 and PRIME in 1999. All our secondary schools became single session in 2000. We are now looking seriously at the possibility of implementing single-session primary schools. If we choose to go ahead, it will fundamentally alter the primary education landscape. 50 new schools will have to be built and 90 schools retrofitted at an estimated cost of over $1 billion. We will need to assess the potential benefits - greater flexibility in organising and scheduling programmes, more opportunities for interaction between teachers and students - and address the practical issues of implementation - sourcing for capable school leaders for the new schools and adjusting the capacity of existing schools.

22. We will also continue to give schools more autonomy. Schools will have more autonomy to deploy their resources effectively in ways that best meet the particular needs of their students. We have fully implemented the cluster system which allows schools to exercise initiative in personnel, finance and resource management, and encourages greater collaboration, sharing and learning among schools.

23. We have accorded autonomous status to 4 more schools in the last two years, which will bring the total number to 22. We are on track to having 30 to 40 autonomous schools in the coming years.

24. We have also encouraged schools to develop their own niches of excellence so that schools will have a distinctive character of their own. Students will then be able to choose schools that better match their interests and aptitudes.

25. As we revise our curriculum and syllabuses, we have progressively made them less prescriptive, and given more latitude in the guidelines provided, on how teaching and learning can take place.

26. We will consider how to increase further the diversity and variety in our school system. The sports school to be run by the Singapore Sports Council and the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, but funded by the Ministry of Education along the same lines as an independent school, is one example.

27. Another way of giving schools more say over the way resources are used, is giving schools the flexibility to decide on how up to 20% of the school built-up area can be used when their schools are being built or redeveloped. This area will be known as the "School White Area". This will provide more flexibility in school building projects, and better facilitate schools' efforts to build on their strengths and identify niche programmes by giving them the flexibility to define the space in schools for new activities. The School White Area will start with PRIME schools currently undergoing design development and for all future new school building programmes.

28. However, for school autonomy to translate into better use of resources and improved learning outcomes for our students, three conditions must be in place.

29. First, school leaders must be able to see the big picture. To set the correct agenda for leading their schools, school leaders must have a firm grasp of the values and strategic considerations that shape our Education System, as well as the challenges and strategic choices facing us today. As school leaders you must be familiar with the wider socio-economic issues in order to execute education policy and deploy resources effectively in your schools. By asking and understanding why our education policy is shaped the way it is, and scanning the external environment, you will be able to make the right decisions and take the correct actions on the ground.

30. This is why MOE is now documenting and articulating the Philosophy of our School Education system that undergirds our curriculum and assessment. It will provide an understanding of why our education system is the way it is, by setting out the focus of each level of education - that, primary education aims to build a firm foundation; secondary education seeks to discover and develop our students' potential, and Pre-university education prepares our students to lead. This will serve as a guide for teachers in the delivery of education programmes and activities. It sets out the broad parameters and directions within which schools have the flexibility to initiate programmes that best meet our educational objectives. For school leaders this will allow you to align your programmes effectively and do the best for your students.

31. Second, schools must understand their community and constituency well. Because of variation in student needs and parental backgrounds, there is no one way of running schools to achieve the Desired Outcomes of Education. Schools must know their stakeholders - students, parents and the community - well, to cater properly to what they need or want, and to adapt the learning process to the varied backgrounds, needs, and interests of their students. It is therefore important that schools continue to build strong links with the community and work closely with industry and business. To encourage schools to do that we will be giving recognition to deserving schools which have forged successful partnerships with their stakeholders, from next year. The PARTNERS awards, which stand for PARents, Teachers, NEighbourhood Resources in Synergy, will be presented to schools for their efforts in promoting and strengthening such partnerships.

32. Third, schools must be accountable. As schools acquire greater autonomy in the development of niches and the use of resources, there will also be greater need for accountability to ensure that schools' efforts are directed towards achieving the Desired Outcomes of Education. Schools must be accountable for helping their pupils attain specified outcomes. Since the implementation of the School Excellence Model in 2000, all schools have been engaged in self-assessment and they will be externally validated once every 5 years. We have begun the process of external validation of schools by MOE. This year, 53 schools have been validated. By participating in the External Validation, schools have found that they are better able to take stock of their efforts and gauge their progress with input from the external assessors. I am pleased to note that from this first assessment, five schools have met the criteria for the Best Practice Awards, which will be awarded today. I urge all schools receiving the various awards today to share with others your methods of success, so that we can propagate best practices, and help each other to scale greater heights. We are not just accountable to our stakeholders, but to each other as well.

33. Globalisation and technological change will press hard on countries like Singapore. Today's search for cheap labour is moving jobs from rich countries to developing ones. There will be increased inequality of incomes and higher levels of transitional unemployment. We can continue to do well only by remaining on the cutting edge of research, by moving into new and growing areas, creating new jobs, by learning from others, by finding the right niches, by cultivating and using ability and knowledge. At the same time we will have to help those who fall behind to learn new skills or get new jobs. Much will depend on our spirit of enterprise, our sense of identity and commitment to the common good, our confidence, and our ability as educationists to transmit these assets across the generations.

34. We have done much during the past few years to fully develop the potential of our young to meet these challenges and exploit the possibilities the future offers. We will continue to do more to maximise the learning outcomes of our students. By optimising their resources and autonomy, schools will be able to deliver an education the New Singapore needs.