SPEECH BY MR HAWAZI DAIPI, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION, AT THE PROMOTION CEREMONY FOR DIVISION II, III & IV EXECUTIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ON SATURDAY 26 JUNE 2004 AT 9:30AM AT THE MOE EDUTORIUM

Good Morning, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

        It gives me great pleasure to welcome you today. Firstly, allow me to extend my warmest congratulations to the officers promoted on 1 June this year. A total of 313 Executive & Administrative staff are promoted into and within the various Division II, III and IV schemes of service. Among them, there are 40 officers who crossed from Division III into Division II status. Another 14 officers may also be promoted later in the coming months on their anniversary dates. You have worked hard and done well. My heartiest congratulations to all of you.

2     Amongst the EAS staff promoted, we have 150 Operations Support Officers promoted from OSO Grade V to OSO Grade IV this year who deserve special mention. Each of these officers had to spend 75 training hours going through the SIX training programme in order to meet the requirements for promotion. Their commitment to training and upgrading is commendable. Their supervisors too have played a part by giving their support to the officers, and making it possible for them to attend the training.

Important Role of EAS

3      The EAS in our schools and HQ Divisions play an important role in supporting the mission and vision of MOE. Without your expertise and the hard work that you put in everyday in your respective areas of work, it will be doubly difficult for the management in HQ, leaders and teachers across 350 schools to achieve the Desired Outcomes of Education. Today’s promotion ceremony is part of the efforts that MOE takes to show our appreciation and recognition for the contributions of our EAS in helping to mould the future of our Nation.

Training and Development

4      Another part of MOE’s efforts in raising the image and profile of our EAS is in training and development. Over the past few years, MOE has put in place training programmes especially for our EAS. For example, we now have an EAS Foundation Programme where we provide basic training for newly recruited EAS to enable them to pick up the skills and knowledge they need to become effective workers in schools.

5      MOE is also a Certified On-the-Job Training Centre. Our On-the-Job Training framework enables Operations Support Officers and Corporate Support Officers in schools to receive training while they are carrying out their daily duties. This year, we have also extended OJT to Technical Support Officers.

6      Another useful training programme is the “Delivering Customer-Oriented Service” conducted by the Customer Service Centre of MOE. This course is tailored for Div III officers who need to perform frontline service duties and will equip them with skills and techniques for delivering quality service to their customers.

Innovation & Enterprise

7      The Ministry will need all our EAS to lend their expertise and hard work in promoting and nurturing the spirit of Innovation & Enterprise (I&E) which is the key focus for MOE over the next 2 to 3 years.

8      This focus on I&E aims to equip both staff and students with the 4 key attributes of Curiosity, Character, Courage and Community. Let me explain briefly what each of these attributes mean.

9      The first “C” attribute Curiosity - encourages our staff and students to ask questions, explore new ways of thinking and experiment with new ideas. We should not passively accept what we are told without understanding or to do thing in a particular way just because we’ve always done it in that way. For example, we could experiment with new ways of carrying out an administrative task so that we could save on resources and yet achieve better results. 

10     The second attribute is Character - In order to be able to change things, our staff and students will also need passion and strength of Character. We need to be persistent, resilient and rugged in order to overcome the problems and setbacks that we will undoubtedly face in our journey towards I&E. With passion and character, we will not be disheartened by failures and will instead strive harder for success. Some of you help out the HOD Discipline in schools and you play a supporting role in shaping and moulding the character of the students. This is an important role.

11     The next “C” attribute is Courage.  We will also need to have the Courage to face the uncertainty that I&E will bring. There may no longer be set answers to the problems that we encounter and we will need to meet any difficulties we face. Also, in order to do new things, we must be willing to forsake the security of the tried and tested and take calculated risks. Courage could also extend towards doing new things that are beyond your current job scope so that you learn a new skill in the process.  So with our OJT system, our OSOs could help out in the office and TSOs could take on some admin tasks.

12     The final attribute of Community should not be neglected. This is because I&E is not an individual pursuit. It involves teamwork as we do not work in isolation but together with colleagues and friends. Furthermore, I&E aims to endow our staff and students with a sense of “giving-back” to the community, of being sensitive to the needs of others and serving others through Community Involvement Programs.

13     The spirit of I&E should be grounded in a set of time-honoured values of integrity, social responsibility and respect for others. These values will serve as guiding principles for our students as they navigate life’s choices.

14     Why is there this need to focus on Innovation & Enterprise? As a country, we need people with a strong I&E spirit to meet the challenges of global economic developments. We will need people who are willing to try new, untested routes, without undue fear of failure. The ability to create and seize new opportunities, rather than just increasing the efficiency of conventional methods, will be essential for the next stage of Singapore’s development.

15     I&E is not a new idea. I&E is one of the Desired Outcomes of Education, which states that ‘students should be ‘innovative and have the spirit of continual improvement, lifelong habit of learning, and an enterprising spirit in undertakings’. Also, I&E has it’s roots in our vision of “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation”. TSLN has, through measures like improving schools and facilities, reducing curriculum content and improving thinking skills, built the foundation for I&E to take off.
 
Role that EAS can play in promoting I&E

16     As EAS, you can do your part to support the efforts for I&E. You can offer to share your expertise and experience with students and colleagues, whether it is in workshop, laboratory or office. You can also display the spirit of I&E in your work through active participation in the Staff Suggestion Scheme and Work Improvement Teams.

17     Education is a long-term process and it takes time to nurture the spirit of I&E. It may take a few years before the results in this area can be seen. However, with the dedicated efforts of our EAS, working hand-in-hand with our teachers and school leaders, I am confident that I&E will make a difference to our staff and students.

Conclusion

18     In closing, let me once again congratulate all the officers promoted this year. You have done well and I am confident that you will keep up the good work. Thank you.