Speech by RAdm Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State for Education at the Signing of Memorandum of Understanding Between Raffles Institution and Sankhyaa Learning (P) Ltd and Launching of Heymath! Prime on Friday, 17 November 06 at Raffles Junior College

SPEECH BY RADM LUI TUCK YEW, MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION AT THE SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN RAFFLES INSTITUTION AND SANKHYAA LEARNING (P) LTD AND LAUNCHING OF HEYMATH! PRIME ON FRIDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 06 AT RAFFLES JUNIOR COLLEGE

Governors of Raffles Institution

Mr Koh Chin Nguang, Headmaster, Raffles Institution

Mr. Harsh Rajan and Ms. Nirmala Sankaran, Co-Founders and Managing Directors of HeyMath!

Teachers and Students

Ladies and Gentleman

1 It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning at this special ceremony to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Raffles Institution and Sankhyaa Learning (P) Ltd and the launching of HeyMath! PRIME (Programme from Raffles Institution for Mathematics Enrichment).

2 Education has played a key role in Singapore’s economic developments and in shaping and bonding multi-racial Singapore. It is one of the distinct threads in the fabric and tapestry of the Singapore success story.

3 Our education system today has an established track record and is acclaimed internationally. Our reputation for excellence and rigour in education is confirmed by the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (or TIMMS) results. Countries now look to Singapore as a model and as a benchmark for excellence, given its development from a Third World country to a First World country within four decades.

4 Where we are today as a nation and how our education played a part in nation building did not come about by chance. We have been deliberate with our macro policies, investing heavily in education from the onset, and with the changes and refinements thereafter to ensure that our education system remains forward-looking and responsive to the prevailing circumstances and the challenges of the future.

5 Going forward, increased competition in a new global economy will be the order of the day even as we evolve new value propositions in a more dynamic world of opportunities and challenges. Our future and our value will increasingly be determined by our innovations and the ideas we create, package, design and market. We need to cultivate and encourage a spirit of enterprise, flexibility and nimbleness in all our schools and students so that they are better prepared and equipped with the skills set to compete in a more fluid, fast-changing and interconnected globalised world.

6 Raffles Institution has a long and established history of doing so. Its alumni bear testimony to this. Its programmes are thoughtfully designed to help every child realise his full potential. Its academic results are sterling. Just as importantly, its emphasis on holistic education and on developing well-rounded individuals has won it acclaim in many different fields, both locally and internationally.

7 Therefore, I am pleased that RI has leveraged on its tradition of excellence and embarked on this partnership with Sankhyaa Learning. In doing so, the collaboration showcases the strengths common to both Singapore and India – our commitment to and belief in the importance of education and technology.

8 HeyMath! PRIME, a mathematics online learning resource targeted at the gifted and talented worldwide combines RI’s expertise and leadership in gifted education, and Sankhyaa Learning’s strength in technology platforms for learning, particularly its HeyMath! E-learning platform. Developed with inputs from the Millenium mathematics Project and the Nrich Online Maths Club of the University of Cambridge, HeyMath! Is an on-line learning system that attempt, so I’ve been told, to be the “math Google”. It does so by gathering the best teaching and assessment practices from India and Singapore’s academic systems and offering their store of on-line lessons and other educational services internationally. HeyMath! Prime is now taking this one step further by catering specifically to the needs of students gifted in Mathematics.

9 This collaboration can provide a winning formula to tap into the potentially immense needs worldwide for quality learning. Technology and connectivity have the potential to realise a ‘world of education without borders’. HeyMath ! PRIME can bridge the divide for students who are gifted in mathematics regardless of where they study. Over time, this particular collaboration can also potentially connect a global community of top performing students in mathematics via a global E-learning platform.

10 For RI, this collaboration is also part of its strategy in bringing its brand name to the global arena and to showcase the depth and strength of one of Singapore’s premier schools. HeyMath! PRIME will not only help RI promote its knowledge base internationally but will also provide benchmarking for schools to import best practices for engaging and nurturing their gifted and talented students.

11 Sankhyaa Learning on the other hand represents one aspect of the immense potential, capacity and rise of dynamic India. India abounds in talents and opportunities, and will invariably impact the future of the world, particularly Asia. Successful Indian organisations like Sankhyaa Learning are in a position to connect India to the wider world and in this case with RI, to market education internationally.

12 I congratulate RI and Sankhyaa Learning on this innovative collaboration and the launch of HeyMath! PRIME I wish you both every success in this venture.