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Speeches

Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education, at the Promotion Ceremony for Division II, III, and IV Executive and Administrative Staff on Friday, 27th June 2008, at 3:30pm at the MOE Edutorium

Directors,

Principals,

Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be here today to share in the joy of this promotion ceremony. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the 257 Executive & Administrative Staff (or EAS) officers in the Division III and IV schemes of service who were promoted on 1 June this year. Another 16 officers will be promoted in the coming months, subject to their continuing good performance.

Pride in the Singapore Education System

Last year, we celebrated 50 years of education. We have accomplished much since the introduction of the Education Ordinance Act in 1957 which laid the basis for equality in Singapore’s education. Those of us who are old enough may remember Singapore in the 50s and 60s, where people lived in overcrowded squatter colonies without electricity or proper sanitation. Schools then were mainly managed by different community groups, using different mediums of instruction and having varied quality of teachers.

After Singapore became independent, the Government had to build new schools in the quickest time possible so that every child could have a place in school. It also had to integrate the different kinds of existing schools and take over the hiring and training of all teachers in schools to ensure quality. And this, the Government succeeded in doing and more.

Indeed, our education system has much to be proud of. The McKinsey group of consultants ranked Singapore as one of the top five high performing education systems in the world.

Critical Role of EAS in the Education System

These achievements of Singapore’s educational system were only possible because of the commitment and dedication of our school leaders, teachers and EAS officers. The partnership that the EAS officers like yourselves have provided through your knowledge and expertise in areas such as school administration, technical support, financial and human resource management has been vital to the smooth-running of our schools and HQ.

I am pleased to note that this year we have 48 Technical Support Officers (TSO) promoted from TSO Grade VI and TSO Grade VIA to TSO Grade V. The promotion is a recognition of the higher level contributions made by these officers in the teaching and learning of students. Mdm Giam Juat Ngoh from Christ Church Secondary School is one of the promotees. She partnered the lower secondary science teachers in developing students’ interest in science and awareness on the environment. To prepare the secondary school pupils to lead primary school students for the N7 Cluster Science Trail, she taught these students the methods to cultivate bacteria and the usage of high-end equipment to facilitate their research work. As the person-in-charge of the Green Club, Mdm Giam also raised the students’ awareness of environmental issues through research projects which clinched 2 silver awards at the 8th Elementz Student Science Research Conference and Exhibition organized by Science Head of Departments in the North Zone. Her commitment to the support of teaching and learning of students in the school is commendable.

Continuous Learning and Development of EAS

In our fast-changing world, knowledge and skills can become obsolete very quickly and what you learnt five or ten years ago may already be irrelevant now. In the Civil Service, before the advent of personal computers (PCs), we used to have a typing pool where specialised staff would type out written communications like letters and memos using typewriters. However, with PCs and email now the default mode of communication, it has become a basic requirement for officers today to possess typing and IT skills to type out their own written communications. The need for a separate typing pool has largely disappeared.

The Ministry is therefore committed to encouraging continual learning and upgrading by our EAS, so that officers can increase their knowledge and skills, enhance their productivity and effectiveness in their work and raise their employability throughout their careers with us. We will recognise officers who have committed time and effort in upgrading their skills and knowledge, through award of training incentives, promotions and emplacement on a higher scheme of service.

Seated among you are officers who have taken advantage of the training opportunities available to pursue upgrading and further their career development. I am pleased to note that 96 Operations Support Officers have been promoted from OSO Grade V to OSO Grade IV this year. Each of these officers spent 75 learning hours under the SIX and ReNew Training programmes organised by the Institute of Public Administration and Management improving their skills in areas such as communication and multi-tasking.

I would like to specially mention Ms Tan Ee Hwa from Schools Branch (East), Schools Division, who has taken advantage of the Employability Skills System (ESS) training programme. The Civil Service has adopted ESS as a core training programme for Division III and IV officers. MOE was the first ministry to accept ESS certification as an alternative to GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ level for appointment into the Corporate Support Scheme in 2007. As a result of obtaining ESS Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Level 5, Ms Tan Ee Hwa has been promoted from OSO Grade III to OSO Grade II.

Mdm Affida Bte Marzuki is another good role model who has pursued continual training and upgrading. Mdm Affida was an office attendant at Outram Institute. She upgraded her qualifications by studying for a Certificate in Office Skills awarded by ITE in 2001. In the course of her studies, she acquired skills and knowledge in IT, Office Management and English. With these skills, Mdm Affidah was subsequently emplaced to the Corporate Support Scheme in 2003 and has been posted to Millennia Institute since 2004. Today, in recognition of her consistent good performance, Mdm Affidah has been promoted to CSO Grade IV.

Such commitment to learning and upgrading by our officers is very commendable. I also commend the supervisors for supporting the development of their officers.

Continual Development Programme for EAS

I am happy to announce that MOE will be introducing the Continual Development Programme (CDP) for all EAS in July 2008 to further support the continual learning and development of our EAS officers. The programme has been customized to facilitate the learning and acquiring of more skills and knowledge by good performing officers in each scheme of service.

Currently, Div III-IV EAS officers can be reimbursed up to 50% of the course fees for selected diploma and certificate courses. With the new CDP, deserving officers can look forward to more support to pursue relevant part-time courses at any of the approved universities, polytechnics, ITEs or ITE certified institutions and WDA approved institutions for ESS.

Under the new CDP, officers can now be reimbursed up to 80% of the course fees. To enhance upgrading opportunities, the range of courses at approved institutions that are eligible for course fee reimbursement, will also be expanded. MOE will also be introducing 3 new schemes to support your upgrading efforts:

  1. Firstly, MOE will fully sponsor those who sign up for ESS courses. In addition, Div III-IV EAS who attain nationally recognised qualifications through CDP can look forward to receiving training incentives of up to $400 per officer per year upon successful completion of the course.
  2. Secondly, MOE will be providing reimbursement to Div III EAS who are keen to pursue diploma courses, and interest free loans to support Div II EAS who are keen to pursue part-time degree courses at approved institutions; and
  3. Finally, outstanding officers who already have ‘A’ level or Diploma qualifications and would like to pursue a bachelor’s degree can apply for Study Award to be fully sponsored up to $22,000 for part-time local studies.

Details of the Continual Development Programme will be released in a circular.

I encourage all officers to seize the enhanced upgrading and development opportunities made available to you. It is only through lifelong learning and continual upgrading, that together, we can remain effective and stay ahead of the changes in the education system.

Enhanced Opportunities for Emplacement

I am also pleased to share that MOE will also be providing more opportunities for progression and emplacement on higher schemes of service for good performing officers.

Serving officers who obtain the requisite academic qualifications, such as ESS, local part-time diploma and degrees from approved institutions can now apply for emplacement to a higher scheme of service to perform a higher level job. For example, a CSO who has obtained a diploma from a local polytechnic can now apply to be emplaced on the Management Support Scheme. Selection will be based on merit and in competition with other applicants. If officers are found suitable by the selection interview panel, they will be emplaced on a higher scheme.

Outstanding officers who demonstrate the potential to perform higher level jobs, but do not possess the requisite academic qualifications, can now be put on a minimum 1 year trial period to perform a higher level job, either within or outside of their current school/division. If they demonstrate that they are able to perform the higher level job competently following the trial, they too will be considered for emplacement subject to merit and competition with other candidates. Details of the revised emplacement criteria will be released in a circular in July 2008.

Open Posting Framework for EAS

Finally, I would like to share that from August 2008 onwards, MOE will implement open posting for EAS in Div II to IV schemes of service. This will be a change from the closed posting system where the Ministry centrally manages the posting of officers to available vacancies.

Under the Open Posting Exercise, the vacancies will be advertised twice a year and eligible officers can view and apply for the vacant positions. To enhance the efficiency of the current application procedures, eligible officers can now submit their applications online via PM2S. They will be notified of the outcome of their application earlier, 2 weeks after the closure of the exercise, compared to 3 months currently. More details of the open posting framework will be released in a circular.

Conclusion

In closing, the Ministry has put in place various initiatives such as the Continual Development Programme and Open Posting System to support the continual learning and career development of our EAS. This is in recognition of the important role played by our EAS and to bring out the best in our officers. Every one of you here is an important partner in delivering quality education in our schools. Let me once again congratulate all the officers who have been promoted this year. Keep up your good work! Thank you.