27 July 2002

SPEECH BY DR NG ENG HEN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL HOSTEL AT DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL ON SAT 27 JULY 2002 AT 9.30 AM

1 Thank you for inviting me to officiate at this Opening Ceremony of the Dunman High School Hostel.

2 The idea to build good quality boarding schools was first mooted in 1998. The main objectives were to provide foreign students with quality accommodation and programmes which catered to their academic and pastoral needs.

3 We have within our Asian cultural heritage a rich tradition of hospitality. We should draw from our heritage and together with the well-built and well-equipped boarding facilities, I sincerely hope that our foreign students will find Dunman High School Hostel a place they can call " a home away from home". We must appreciate that these foreign students can add to our talent pool. They can enrich our schools and society. Hostels, like this one, can become cosmopolitan enclaves where people from all over Asia gather to exchange ideas and build friendships. They can serve as crucibles for leaders of our future to interact, forge lasting relationships and mould each other. So I was quite pleased when I read that a significant proportion of boarders were Singaporeans. I think it was a wise choice and these local students will be enriched by their experiences in a hostel.

4 There is much truth in the saying that, "A foreigner is a friend I haven't met". Our Singapore students should see themselves as hosts and make good use of the opportunities to establish strong bonds of friendship in this unique environment. I am sure that there will be many cherished moments and learning experiences as they become close friends with fellow boarders.

5 Correspondingly, my hope is that your overseas students will sink roots into Singapore, as they benefit from the high quality of education and enjoy the encounters of hostel living.

6 Today's opening of the hostel is further testimony that Autonomous schools are actively responding to the challenge of developing their students holistically. Dunman High School was among the first schools in Singapore to achieve Autonomous status in 1994. Since then, it has excelled in niche areas, beginning with its Chinese Orchestra, which received the bi-annual Singapore Youth Festival award for being the best Chinese Orchestra in both 1999 and 2001. I am told that Dunman High is not contented with this success and is broadening its repertoire in performing arts to include a string ensemble, its band, its choir, dance and drama. This is the kind of diversification and distinction that we want to encourage in our education system.

7 There are now twenty-two Autonomous Schools in Singapore, and I am glad to see that, like Dunman High, they have all done us proud by building on their traditional strengths to enhance the well-rounded education they offer to their students.

8 I am pleased to announce that one more school will join this fraternity of Autonomous Schools this year: CHIJ Katong Convent, which has been serving students and the community in the eastern part of Singapore for the past seventy-two years. Katong Convent is well known for achieving sustained good academic results. Beyond academic results, the school also has a well-rounded education programme that provides opportunities for students to fully develop themselves. In addition, it has built strong bonds with parents, alumni and the local community. I have no doubt that Katong Convent will be invigorated by this recognition in gaining Autonomous status and will, like Dunman High, continue to grow from strength to strength.

9 In closing, let me reiterate the government's commitment to invest in education and in young people. Wherever you are from, you will inherit a very different world from the one I grew up in, but rest assured that the education you receive in Singapore will equip you for that world and enable you to find your niche in it.

10 It now gives me great pleasure to declare the Dunman High School Hostel officially open.