) or https:// as an added precaution.Good Morning Mr Patrick Tay, Chairman, SIMPDF
Principals, Friends from SIM, Board Members,
Ladies and Gentleman,
1. Very glad to be able to join you for this significant milestone.
2. The SIM People Development Fund is signing a three-year Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU) with our Assumption Pathway School, NorthLight School, Crest Secondary School (Crest) and Spectra Secondary School (Spectra).
Role of Schools Receiving SIMPDF Support
3. These schools play an important role in our education ecosystem. They recognise our students who may be better suited to learning approaches that are much more experiential and hands-on, and therefore provide them with an alternative pathway to learn, grow, and thrive. Through a holistic approach to education, our students can pick up life skills as well as social-emotional learning, and vocational training. More importantly, they nurture in our students the confidence and resilience they need to navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain world. And by doing so you enable them to achieve their potential and to contribute meaningfully to our society.
Addressing Real Challenges Through Partnership
4. Yet, we recognise that some of our students from disadvantaged backgrounds face additional challenges when making the transition from school to the next phase of lives. For instance, they may face financial barriers in accessing higher education opportunities, they may face difficulties in securing internships, or they may encounter employers who don't yet fully recognise their unique strengths and abilities.
5. This is where today's partnership becomes transformative. Through this MoU, SIM People Development Fund will provide Assumption Pathway, Northlight, Crest and Spectra Secondary Schools with up to $50,000 for each school per year, for 3 years from 2026 to 2028. This certainly provides confidence to be able to build up something meaningful for our children. This will be used to award students with SIM People Development Fund Progression Awards as well as Apprenticeship Awards, which will give our students practical financial support to help them to address some of these challenges.
6. The Progression Awards will help graduating students from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress to their next level of learning or vocational training.
7. While the Apprenticeship Awards will help to fund internships and placements with employers through stipends. This is because workplace experience is often the bridge that our students need to transition successfully and confidently into meaningful employment after graduation. By removing or reducing barriers to internships and creating structured pathways to employment, more doors will open for our students.
The Importance of Collaborative Impact
8. Over the next three years, we believe that more than 200 of our students will benefit from these awards that we've created. But think about it – the impact will extend beyond individual recipients. Each student who successfully transitions to further education or meaningful employment becomes a role model for others. Each employer who provides an internship opportunity also experiences firsthand, the ability of our students and takes an important first step to understanding how to work with our students, how to guide them and how to unlock their full potential. Each success story helps to shift perceptions and spark new opportunities. The challenges our students face are indeed complex and multifaceted, but there is so much potential we can unlock. So in that sense, no single organisation, regardless of how well-intentioned or well-resourced, can address these challenges alone. But when we combine the educational expertise of our schools, partnerships from our community, and support from Government, we can create a stronger ecosystem to uplift and transform lives.
MOE's Continued Commitment
9. As we witness today's signing, I would like to reaffirm the Ministry of Education's (MOE) commitment to Assumption Pathway, Northlight, Crest and Spectra and the students they serve. We will continue to invest in our schools and their innovative approaches to education.
10. More broadly, MOE will also continue to support students with higher needs and special educational needs. We recognise that inclusive education is not just about providing access — in fact, it's about ensuring that every student in our schools receives the support they need to reach their full potential.
11. In a way if you think about it, the schools that provide these pathways are an important point of sphere for this to happen. You must also consider the overall changes over the years we have made to our system to better recognise the different talents and abilities of our students. So a lot more scaffolding in our schools, starting from primary school, a lot more special education support, counselling and Education and Career Guidance (ECG). Recognising that we should not stream our students but to peg their learning at a level that they are comfortable in – higher level for subjects they are stronger in and a slightly lower level for subjects that they are building capabilities in. More pathways for them through different academic and vocational tracks, as well as greater porosity for them to be able to transition from one stage to the other, not just vertically but also horizontally, because we recognise that our children and our students and our youths develop their abilities at their own pace. In this overall endeavour, we continue to welcome partnerships that create impact for our students, like the one that we are celebrating today. The success of this collaboration will serve as a model for other potential partnerships, demonstrating how community organisations and our schools can work together in meaningful and impactful ways.
Conclusion
12. To all our schools and partners here today, I would like to thank you for believing that every student deserves the chance to succeed, and for working to make that belief a reality. I would also like to thank SIM People Development Fund and SIM for giving the extra support and working hand-in-hand with our schools to make this partnership impactful and meaningful for the next generation. Thank you.