SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE UNIFORMED GROUPS OFFICERS' CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2004 AT 9.00AM AT THE ORCHID COUNTRY CLUB

Mr Hawazi bin Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education)

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Permanent Secretary (Education)

Ms Sum Chee Wah, Director Education Programmes

Heads of Uniformed Groups

Distinguished Guests

Colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning,

1 I am very pleased to join you this morning for the Uniformed Groups Officers' Conference 2004.

2 Our Uniformed Groups (UGs) are a major feature of school life. The 8 UGs have a student membership of 81,700 today, or about 30% of the total student enrolment in secondary schools. This is encouraging, because the UGs have always been an excellent channel for developing our students holistically.

3 The UGs provide diverse and challenging activities to cater to the wide range of our cadets' needs and interests. And through these activities, our cadets develop critical life skills and qualities  -  discipline, leadership, resourcefulness, teamwork & resilience.

CONFERENCE THEME "BUILDING TOMORROW TODAY"

4 Since the last UG Conference 4 years ago, we have made good progress. The UGs' programmes have been enriched with the introduction of more varied activities  -  like the Heritage Trails, where the cadets get to develop a deeper understanding of our past, and Experiential Camps for P6 students, where our cadets have the opportunity to share with P6 students their experiences and play a part in persuading them to join the UGs.

5 Within each uniformed group, there is now closer collaboration across school units.  For example, in March this year, Bartley Secondary School's NPCC (NPCC) hosted an I&E Seminar for NPCC secondary school units.  There is also more collaboration across the different UGs.  Today, it is not uncommon to find one UG inviting other UGs to its activities. 

6 The CCAB has also introduced Inter-UG Project-Based competitions. An example is the inter-UG video competitions. These competitions provide a platform for the UG cadets to showcase their inventiveness and spirit of enterprise. They also offer opportunities for the cadets to work closely with their polytechnic mentors, some of whose experience and expertise gets rubbed off on the cadets. 

7. This conference offers a good platform for UGs to come together, to reflect on and take stock of our strategies and practices. More importantly, it offers our UG officers an important opportunity to generate new ideas on how the UG experience can help to achieve our goals in education.  The future is what today is about. Our actions, our decisions, our choices today will shape our future. That is why CCAB has chosen,  "Building Tomorrow Today", as the conference theme.  It brings home the point that what we do today for our young charges today, will have significant bearing on  their future.

STRUCTURE ACTIVITIES TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES

8 Our UGs are part of the broader innovation taking place in our schools, as we reorient ourselves to help the next generation meet the demands of a changing, and more complex, future. We are trying to nurture Singaporeans with a core of knowledge relevant to the future, minds that keep inquiring, and a willingness to lead and to work hard to achieve their dreams.

9 Our teachers are key players in all of this. They will determine whether we succeed in this mission, and they are rising to the challenge. You are trying out new ways of teaching and coaching your students, providing them with more diverse opportunities to discover or unlock their talents, and inspiring them through personal example.

10 As UG officers, you will have ample opportunities to do all this in your training activities and programmes. The culture of UGs has always been one that encourages initiative. The senior cadets plan and conduct activities, guided by their officers and Voluntary Adult Leaders (VALs). We should make the most of the UGs to provide space for the senior cadets, and indeed, all cadets to take initiative and exercise leadership. We should give them all the chance they need to develop greater awareness of their own strengths and interests, explore new paths that will never be assured of success and grow as individuals. Through experience, they will develop instincts on the right choices, and the strategies that are more likely to work out right. 

OPPORTUNITIES OF THE 5-DAY WORKWEEK

11 The Prime Minister's announcement on 22 Aug 04 of the adoption of the 5-day work week in the civil service has been received with great enthusiasm by our schools and teachers. Our first reaction might be to shift all activities that we now have on Saturdays to the weekdays.  But this will not be possible, or even desirable.  The UGs, in particular, will usually need to carry out activities on Saturdays because you rely on VALs to carry out training.

12 The challenge of implementing the 5-day week will provide an opportunity for us to re-examine what we do in schools and why. We should set aside activities that have not been very effective, reinforce those that have been very useful, and restructure those that can be improved on. More importantly, we should keep a clear focus on the fundamentals and stay true to our mission of providing broad and holistic learning opportunities for our students. I urge you to think afresh and be bold in coming up with possible solutions.

13 I am sure that through your group discussions later today, you will be able to see new possibilities for providing a rich and varied educational experience to our young.  

CONCLUSION

14 UGs play an important role in the development of Singapore youth.  I urge you to capitalise on the esprit de corps that has been established among the UGs and your collective knowledge and wisdom to review current programmes, and to generate new ideas for nurturing our young and shaping our future. May I wish you fruitful discussions and a rewarding day at this conference