28 June 2002

SPEECH BY RADM (NS) TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SECOND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE NIE TEACHERS INVESTITURE CEREMONY AT 3.00 P.M. ON FRIDAY 28 JUNE 2002 AT THE SINGAPORE INDOOR STADIUM

1. Today, over 2,000 teachers will be receiving their teaching degrees and diplomas. Let me congratulate all of you for completing your initial teacher training. Let me also welcome you on behalf of my colleagues in MOE, into the teaching fraternity. You will hold a unique position in the lives of the many young pupils who will pass through your hands. Whether our young have the skills, drive and enterprise to take Singapore to greater heights, whether they love Singapore and are prepared to defend it, will be shaped by the education they receive during their formative years. How each generation turns out will depend critically on all of you.

2. The number of teachers taking part in today's investiture is the largest to have graduated from NIE in any one year. At this morning's ceremony, 900 new teachers were awarded the Diploma in Education, or the Bachelor of Arts or Science with Diploma in Education. Another 1,100 new teachers will be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Education and other specialised Diplomas in Education at this afternoon's ceremony.

3. The large number of graduands bears testimony to our efforts to build up our teaching force. In the last 5 years, the Ministry has been able to recruit more than 2,000 teachers per year into the Education Service. Although the resignation rate of teachers has been low - between 2% to 3%, the number of teachers who joined the service in the 1960s, and who are now retiring from the service has increased. On the whole, as a result of the higher recruitment numbers, the size of the teaching service has increased from about 22,500 teachers in 1997 to 24,500 in 2001, a 9% increase. This expansion has been achieved without compromising on quality - high standards continue to be maintained and only those from the top third of each cohort, with the aptitude to teach, are selected for the Education Service.

4. The ministry is committed to recruiting as many teachers as are suitable and prepared to teach. The budget for Education increased by half a billion dollars this year, despite uncertain economic times and a tighter budgetary position overall for the government. This will enable the Ministry to implement the plans that we have formulated. We will continue to push ahead with PRIME, the next phase of the IT Masterplan, increasing the capacity of our post-secondary sector, and major enhancements to the teaching service through Edu-Pac.

5. Edu-Pac was introduced last year and has improved career advancement prospects, enhanced professional upgrading opportunities, and improved the recognition package for teachers. It will also extend the influence of our best teachers. Under Edu-Pac, we appointed our first 3 Master Teachers in April this year. Another 83 officers were appointed as Senior Teachers - this is more than double the number of Senior Teachers appointed in the last few years. All these officers went through a rigorous accreditation process, which includes the preparation of a professional portfolio and interviews with senior education officers. These Master and Senior Teachers will play an important role in building up teaching excellence in their clusters and schools through mentoring and sharing of good teaching practices with their fellow teachers.

6. By providing the Ministry with the range of tools required to develop, recognise and reward our teachers, Edu-Pac will position our Education Service for the future. The profession will be able to retain its experienced teachers to ensure continuity, conviction and values in the service. At the same time, every school will see a pipe line of new teachers, like yourselves, joining their schools, bringing fresh ideas, enthusiasm and energy. Feedback from schools confirm that our new teachers are measuring up to our high standards. Our children have the good teachers they need.

7. Talented and dedicated teachers lie at the heart of all we do in Education. Regardless of new initiatives or bright ideas, nothing can take the place or importance of having knowledgeable teachers guiding our children in every classroom. Teachers play two very crucial roles in any society.

8. First, they help our children realise their potential and fulfil their individual aspirations. They equip students with the tools and skills to perform, to contribute and to be employable. At the same time, they imbue students at all levels and of all ages with the motivation to learn and the discipline for continual learning. They transform our children to become confident, thinking young adults. Our children deserve nothing less, and as a nation we cannot flourish without giving each and every child the best possible start in life.

9. Second, teachers help to sustain our nation's values. Good teachers pass on to pupils the knowledge, beliefs and values that societies have accumulated over generations, and help our young understand the role that they must play in the community. Rapid economic development has resulted in startling social transformations. This makes more important the teachers' role as moral and social anchors. Teachers must be good examples of citizenship and are selected as much for their potential as moral guides as for their efficiency as transmitters of knowledge.

10. The demands on today's teachers - from government, parents, employers and society at large - are therefore great. We entrust our children with teachers for six or more hours a day and we expect them to produce school leavers who are willing to learn, persistent, mature, sociable, sensitive, determined, civic-minded, reliable, team-spirited, and imaginative.

11. Often teachers spend so much of their time motivating and realising the achievements of their students that their own achievements are overlooked. At this morning's ceremony, the Outstanding Youth In Education Award (or OYEA) was presented to two young teachers who have gone the extra mile for their students. The award is given out annually to teachers aged 30 or younger who have shown an outstanding ability to motivate and challenge their students to maximise their potential. The OYEA gives all of us the chance to say thank you.

12. Being a good teacher is not easy. It takes hard work. Managing a classroom takes time and skill. Almost every minute of their working day, teachers have to make important and often difficult decisions: how to communicate, react to a challenge, inspire a pupil, or intervene in conflict.

13. Good teachers are not all the same. He can be the person who is infinitely patient with children who find it hard to grasp what others absorb easily; or the admired head who inspires colleagues; or the dedicated teacher putting in far more than is required; or the firm hand that helps a student to find his way in life.

14. But there are characteristics shared by all good teachers. Firstly, good teachers improve the quality of learning. Secondly, good teachers help to shape lives.

15. Let me take the first point - that good teachers promote learning. Good teachers do this by creating a climate for learning that strikes the right balance between orderliness and openness. They connect with their students to help them learn and discover, and treat them as individuals. Inside and outside of the classroom, good teachers strive for what is best for their students. They set goals together with their students and help them achieve those goals; they celebrate successes and encourage those still working along.

16. If teachers are to affect learning positively, they themselves must be active learners. Good teachers therefore have a mental outlook that welcomes and thrives on change. The speed and complexity of economic and technological changes are radically altering the way we live, work and organise ourselves. Knowledge becomes obsolete quickly. The education landscape will also undergo significant changes in the coming years. The Ministry is reviewing Junior College and upper secondary education, to examine how we can better meet the diverse needs of our young. We are seeking to introduce greater diversity and variety in terms of education programmes, qualifications and mix of schools to the system, while not losing our rigour and high standards.

17. Teachers therefore have to be versatile and constantly refresh and update themselves to be able to prepare new generations of Singaporeans for the future. The completion of your initial teacher training marks only the start of a life-long journey of professional learning and renewal. You will have many opportunities to learn and adapt to the rapidly evolving and changing needs of education. You will be able to contribute to as well as learn many things from the schools that you are posted to, and the colleagues that you will be working with.

18. NIE has in place a framework and programmes for continuing education to facilitate and encourage professional upgrading at all levels within the teaching profession. NIE is also building up a collaborative network with overseas universities to provide more upgrading opportunities for our teachers. Earlier this year, NIE and the University of Melbourne signed an addendum to their Student Exchange Agreement to enhance co-operation in the conduct of PhD and Masters programmes, and leadership training programmes. NIE is currently exploring similar partnerships with institutions in the USA, Canada, and China.

19. To facilitate continual learning among teachers, MOE has implemented e-learning through VITAL - the Virtual Institute of Training and Learning. This is an e-learning platform, which enables teachers to take up training at their own time and pace. In the coming years, more training courses will be added to this platform. You should keep abreast of the training courses available and take advantage of them to facilitate your own learning.

20. More than affecting learning, good teachers make a positive impact on our lives. All of us can name teachers who made a difference to our lives. Some of you even decided to become teachers because of your teacher's example and influence. As teachers, you will be in the position to build a solid, positive foundation for those in your care, whether for a day, a year or a lifetime. Teaching represents a form of higher calling; it is a public service that ultimately shapes the public it serves. As teachers, you will provide the knowledge on which young adults build their future and provide an example for others to follow.

21. In time, I hope all of you will embody the qualities that the best practitioners bring to their work, and be the standard bearers, indicators of what is best, and fine ambassadors for the profession. So go that extra mile for your students. Put them at the centre of what you do. And take the time to be their friend and mentor.

22. Once again, let me congratulate each and every one of you and welcome you to the ranks of the teaching profession. You have been vested with the privilege and responsibility of moulding the future of our nation. I urge you to give of your best to this calling.