27 January 2007

Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Enhance Bilateral Collaborations in Education

1. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Finance, will be visiting Brunei Darussalam from 27-28 January 2007.
2. Mr Shanmugaratnam also met his counterpart in Brunei, Pehin Dato Haji Abdul Rahman Taib. They agreed to extend collaboration between Singapore and Brunei in a few areas:
   1. Partnership between Brunei’s Ministry of Education and Singapore's National Institute of Education (NIE) on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education;
   2. Collaboration and sharing of best practices in the teaching and learning of English language, including study visits and attachments by Brunei educators; and
   3. Enhancing the interactions between our schools and students through school twinning programmes, adventure camps, sports and cultural activities. Seven pairs of schools from the two countries are currently twinned, and the number could increase in the future.

   Mr Shanmugaratnam said,“These growing collaborations in education between Brunei and Singapore reflect the warmth and trust that we share with each other.”

3. Mr Shanmugaratnam also visited the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Vocational and Technical Education (VOCTECH) Centre as the President of the SEAMEO Council. At VOCTECH Centre, Mr Shanmugaratnam gave the opening address and presented certificates to 5 participants of the Internet and Computing Core (IC3) course.
4. Mr Shanmugaratnam also met with Brunei's 2nd Finance Minister, Pehin Dato Haji Abdul Rahman Ibrahim. He will return to Singapore tomorrow.