Speeches
Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Home Affairs, at the Ready for School Fund Disbursement Ceremony, on Saturday, 15 November 2008, at 11.00 am at AMP @ Pasir Ris
Mr Mohd Anuar Yusop, Executive Director AMP
Members of AMP Board
Distinguished Guests
Parents and Students
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning.
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to grace the Ready for School Fund Disbursement Ceremony.
I understand that AMP conducts the Ready for School Fund disbursement ceremony annually to help our students in their education journey. This is a commendable effort in ensuring that the academic aspirations of our students are not hindered by economic constraints and that all students, regardless of their financial background, should have a fair opportunity at quality education.
The dropout rate in schools has been decreasing over the years and currently stands at 1.6 per cent. While this may be considered small, we are stepping up our efforts in maintaining this low rate and pushing it even lower. Some of these include providing schools with additional Full Time School Counselors and Operations Managers to closely monitor and counsel students who are at-risk of dropping out of school and ensure that they are meaningfully engaged in all aspects of school life. We are also strengthening our partnerships with other ministries, non-governmental organizations and self-help groups to provide comprehensive and holistic support for these students.
Some of these students do not go to school due to their financial situation. They may not have enough cash to pay for their bus fares and often do not have enough money to buy their school essentials such as stationery, school bags and even their school uniform. I am heartened to know that 550 of these students, who are from low-income families, are currently assisted by AMP through the Ready for School Fund.
I have also been informed that there are 50 tertiary students present today who will be receiving the AMP Education Bursary. You are now in a position to craft a better future for yourselves. Only through a sound tertiary education will you be fully prepared for the challenges of the globalised world. I am sure your parents are very proud of you.
Our education system seeks to provide equal opportunities for all students regardless of their family background. Every child is encouraged to put in his best effort, discover his own talents and interests and develop them to the maximum.
We do this across all schools, making sure that every school has qualified and passionate teachers and sufficient resources. But our teachers and schools cannot work alone. The whole community must be involved to work closely with our schools to help our students, especially those from the less well-off families.
So, I would like to take this opportunity to commend AMP for making a difference in the lives of these students.
Going forward, I hope all parents here today will make every effort to inspire your children to work hard and stay in school. All of us believe in hard work, and treasure the fact that as Singaporeans, we have equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of our background.
At the same time, we are also a compassionate society, where the more successful reach out to help the less fortunate and where we seek to create opportunities and hope for all Singaporeans.
I hope AMP will continue to make the Ready for School Fund a more effective channel to help needy students in our community realise their dreams.
Thank you.